Expressive forced theft
Forced robbery at gunpoint - an expressive image
Riches
A watch worth one million dollars was stolen from a Briton residing in a Gulf country
The thieves are arrested and face life imprisonment
America
Dubai - Al Arabiya.net
Published on: August 15, 2024: 01:29 PM GST
Last updated: August 15, 2024: 01:52 PM GST
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US federal authorities have accused two men visiting the United States from South America of stealing a watch worth $1 million from the Beverly Hills Hotel restaurant, saying they were part of a "crime tourism" gang.
The suspects allegedly stole a Patek Philippe watch at gunpoint from a man who was sitting with his wife and daughter in the courtyard restaurant of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on August 7. One suspect pointed a gun at the man while the other removed the 5711/113p-001 Emerald Nautilus watch from his wrist before fleeing in a car, according to documents filed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles.
Three days later, authorities said police arrested the two suspects — Jemer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 21, of Colombia, and Jesús Eduardo Padrón Rojas, 19, of Venezuela — driving a different vehicle that was linked to a previous armed robbery in Beverly Hills when it was stolen. A Rolex watch worth $30,000.
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A statement attached to the criminal complaint indicates that the two suspects belong to an organized gang in South America, which are transnational criminal organizations that include citizens of countries such as Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. Federal authorities said that these groups often exploit the US immigration system and submit fraudulent claims to enter the country.
The criminals allegedly monitored the owner of the Patek Philippe watch for two weeks before making their move. The victim and his family are British citizens residing in the UAE, according to court documents.
If convicted on all charges, Sepulveda faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison, while Padron faces up to 20 years.
Authorities described the theft as a form of "crime tourism," which involves people living a "nomadic life" in Airbnb rentals and hotels to avoid arrest after entering the United States. They use fake identities and aliases to hide their identities and criminal histories, according to court documents.
New York City has also been plagued by a rash of watch thefts in recent months. Some of these incidents included unidentified individuals placing men in a suffocation position until they lost consciousness and then seizing the victims' watches.
In the most recent robbery, on August 9, the victim was attacked in a subway station, according to New York City police.
Last month, city police reported six more thefts dating back to March, some at upscale restaurants in Manhattan and in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
In June, a victim was held at gunpoint outside Carbone, a trendy Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village. Two men stole his $100,000 watch and then fled the scene on a motorcycle. Another robbery targeted three men sitting at an outdoor restaurant in SoHo where one of the attackers displayed a silver firearm and stole their watches worth $40,000, $35,000 and $8,500.
Police are looking for several suspects in these incidents.
Beverly Hills, where the streets are lined with luxury boutiques, is a magnet for upscale shoppers, and sometimes criminals.