Killer Cop Christopher Dorner's Gun Linked To 'Crime Tourists' Arrested In RivCo: DOJ

BLYTHE, CA — On the same day earlier this month that police in Blythe arrested "robbery tourists" who were on their way to Miami to cash in on a stolen $1 million watch, authorities over 200 miles away said they made a mysterious discovery in the crew's Airbnb: A gun registered to a notorious former Southland police officer whose 2013 killing spree included the ambush of Riverside County officers.

The discovery of ex-Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner's gun came as police investigated two South Americans accused of stealing a man's watch at gunpoint while he dined at a restaurant patio at a high-end Beverly Hills hotel, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The crew had been scouting the victim — and his watch — for two weeks and committed another robbery in Beverly Hills while staying at a Los Angeles Airbnb, prosecutors said. During a search of the Airbnb, officers found the gun registered to Dorner, who killed four people — including a Riverside Police Department officer who lived in Beaumont — before committing suicide in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 21, of Colombia, is charged with one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, 19, of Venezuela, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery, prosecutors said.

The robbery occurred Aug. 7 at around 6:40 p.m. when the victim was sitting with his wife and 5-year-old twin daughters on the patio of a Beverly Wilshire Hotel restaurant, Homeland Security Task Force Officer Thomas Ferguson wrote in court documents obtained by Patch.

One suspect approached the group and pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the victim and pulled back the gun's slide, chambering a round. While he held the victim at gunpoint and yelled in Spanish, the second suspect approached the man and removed the silver Patek Philippe Emerald Nautilus watch from his wrist, prosecutors said.

The victim, a U.K. citizen and United Arab Emirates resident who was a guest at the hotel, said he feared for his and his family's lives and let the suspect take the watch without a struggle, according to court documents

The suspects fled the scene on Rodeo Drive and eventually got into a blue Toyota Corolla; Sepulveda served as the getaway driver, prosecutors said.

The car was "cold plated" — using a license plate that was not registered to the vehicle. That often suggests the plate is stolen and used to conceal crimes and avoid police attention, according to court documents.

Authorities three days later executed a search warrant at an LA Airbnb where the South American theft group had been staying: Security camera footage showed the group leaving the night before, according to court documents.

During the search, officers found a Glock 21 .45 caliber handgun in a bedroom that was registered to Dorner, according to court documents. Authorities have not said how they believe the suspects came to possess the gun.

Dorner's Killing Spree

The mysterious discovery of Dorner’s gun opens old wounds for the Los Angeles Police Department and law enforcement across the Southland.

In February of 2013, Dorner, a disgruntled former LAPD officer, went on a killing spree targeting police officers and their loved ones, setting off one of the largest manhunts in California history. Officers and civilians were shot during the manhunt, which lasted for days and held the Southland captive. Ultimately, Dorner died in a fiery gun battle in the San Bernardino mountains where he had holed up as police closed in on him.

His deadly spree started with an 11,000-word manifesto mailed to CNN. It listed his targets by name and declared "unconventional and asymmetric warfare" upon the LAPD.

It was quickly followed by the Feb. 3, 2013 shootings of 28-year-old Monica Quan and her fiancé, 27-year-old Keith Lawrence outside Quan’s Irvine home. She was the daughter of former LAPD Capt. Randal Quan, identified as a target in Dorner’s manifesto.

Police warned the public to be on alert for the armed and dangerous Dorner, and sent police units to protect the officers and families targeted in the manifesto.

Three days later, Dorner shot at two LAPD officers working a protective detail for a target in Corona. Moments later, he ambushed two Riverside Police Department officers stopped at a red light in their patrol car, killing Officer Michael Crain, of Beaumont.

That night, he fled to San Diego, where he tried to hijack a boat before heading into the San Bernardino Mountains, triggering school closures and widespread panic as police fanned out across the snow-covered Big Bear Mountain searching for Dorner.

The search continued for days, and authorities offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Dorner’s capture.

With the community on edge, LAPD officers mistakenly shot a mother and daughter delivering newspapers in a Torrance neighborhood where one of Dorner’s LAPD targets lived.

Days later, on Feb. 12, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies responding to a report of a carjacking were shot by Dorner. Detective Jeremiah MacKay later died from his wounds.

Police closed in on Dorner as he holed up in a vacant cabin in Angelus Oaks. They fired gas canisters into the cabin, triggering a fire. Surrounded by police in a burning cabin, Dorner shot himself in the head.

The case triggered years of legal wrangling and investigations into LAPD use of force. How Dorner's gun came to be connected to a high-profile crime wave in 2024 remains under investigation. It's the latest twist in a case that continues to haunt the LAPD.

Stopped On Their Way To Miami

On the same day LA County authorities searched the robbery crew's Airbnb, officers over 200 miles east, in Blythe, conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Equinox and identified Sepulveda and Padron inside the vehicle, according to court documents.

Police recovered three phones from the vehicle, including ones believed to belong to Sepulveda and Padron. Sepulveda was wearing the same shirt he was wearing on the day of the Beverly Wilshire robbery, when he was captured on a security camera driving the getaway car, according to court documents.

The SUV was linked to another armed robbery in Beverly Hills, on Aug. 5, during which a $30,000 Rolex was stolen, authorities said.

Sepulveda later admitted to police that when the crew's vehicle was stopped in Blythe, they were on their way to Miami to meet a co-conspirator and receive their payment for the stolen Patek Phillipe watch, according to court documents.

He also admitted to committing the Rolex robbery and receiving $1,500 from a co-conspirator for the watch. He also admitted to being the getaway driver in the Beverly Wilshire robbery and said the crew had been conducting surveillance and watching for the Patek Phillipe watch for two weeks, according to court documents.

Police searched the phones and found photos and videos of Sepulveda holding the Patek Phillipe watch, screenshots of a BHPD news release about the robbery and images of him holding different guns, according to court documents.

Additionally, one of the phones contained a screenshot of an Instagram Story that shows the Patek Phillipe watch with the text "these are the 2 watches we are looking for, they are valued at 1.3 million dollars," according to court documents.

Southland authorities have recently noted an uptick in so-called "crime tourism," in which foreigners often fraudulently enter the U.S. and live nomadic lives to avoid arrest while they commit robberies. The groups often use counterfeit identification and aliases, according to court documents.

If convicted on all counts, Sepulveda faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison, while Padron faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The investigation is being handled by Homeland Security Investigations and the Beverly Hills and Blythe police departments.

Paige Austin contributed to this report.