Officials probe why robbery suspects had gun of ex-LA officer involved in 2013 shooting spree

LOS ANGELES — Officials are looking into why two robbery suspects were in possession of a gun registered to rogue ex-Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner, who went on a deadly shooting rampage in 2013, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

One of the suspects, Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, a 19-year-old Venezuelan citizen, told police he had handled the gun and left it in the Airbnb where authorities discovered it Aug. 10, officials said. The weapon is registered to Dorner, who killed four people in 2013.

Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, a 21-year-old Colombian citizen, and Padron were stopped and charged with felonies related to an armed robbery. Sepulveda and Padron told investigators that they were involved in an armed robbery of a $30,000 Rolex on Aug. 5 in Beverly Hills. Two days later, they said they took a Patek Philippe watch with an estimated worth of over $1 million, according to an affidavit.

One suspect pointed a gun at a man sitting with his wife and two daughters on the Beverly Wilshire Hotel’s restaurant patio while the other removed the silver Patek Philippe watch from his wrist, the affidavit said. The crew had been surveilling for the luxury watch for two weeks, Sepulveda told police.

Authorities are investigating how Dorner's gun came into the men’s possession, said Justice Department spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy. The gun was in a pillowcase on a bed where a witness told police Padron had been sleeping in the Airbnb, according to the affidavit.

The two suspects charged Tuesday told investigators they had been staying at the Airbnb and had photos of the stolen Patek Philippe watch on their phones.

Dorner killed four people, including two law enforcement officers and the daughter of a former LAPD captain and her fiancé, during a weeklong rampage in February 2013 that involved a massive manhunt and ended with his apparent suicide in a mountain cabin following a gunbattle with police.

Sepulveda and Padron are both in custody and made their initial court appearances Tuesday. They will be arraigned next month in federal court in downtown Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said they were members of a crime tourism group. The groups “live nomadic lives to avoid arrest by law enforcement, including by residing in Airbnbs and cash-focused motels,” prosecutors said in court records.