The armed robbery occurred on the outdoor patio of THE Blvd restaurant, on the sidewalk of Wilshire Boulevard. (photo by Edwin Folven)

A suspect in an armed hold-up last August on the restaurant patio of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel pleaded guilty on March 17 to a federal criminal charge of interference with commerce by robbery.

Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 22, a Colombian national who authorities said entered the United States illegally, faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Salazar is a member of a robbery crew that targeted victims for luxury jewelry last summer. Authorities said the defendant was the getaway driver during a robbery on Aug. 7 in which he and another armed suspect stole a Patek Philippe Nautilus wristwatch valued at $1 million from a victim dining at THE Blvd restaurant at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Salazar and the second armed suspect – Jesus Eduardo Bryan Padron Rojas, 20, a Venezuelan national who was also illegally in the U.S. – were arrested last August and have since remained in custody. Police believe other members of the crew are still at-large and the investigation is ongoing.

Salazar and Rojas allegedly conducted surveillance outside the hotel and restaurant two days before committing the robbery, authorities said. A member of the robbery crew also robbed another man at gunpoint who was walking in a residential neighborhood in the 400 block of Doheny Road in Beverly Hills on Aug. 5. The suspect stole a watch valued at $30,000, authorities said. Investigators determined the men were staying at a short-term rental in South Los Angeles and found multiple firearms during a search of the property. One of the guns found belonged to Christopher Dorner, a former LAPD officer who killed four people and injured three during a series of targeted attacks in 2013, and was later killed by police. The LAPD confirmed shortly after the gun was found that it was not Dorner’s service weapon, and authorities have not disclosed how the firearm ended up in the possession of the robbery crew.

United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II scheduled a July 14 sentencing hearing for Salazar. Criminal charges are still pending against Rojas.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Beverly Hills Police Department. Anyone with information is urged to call the BHPD at (310)550-4951.