2 Arrested in Rolex Theft; Link to Other Thefts Studied

Redondo Beach police have arrested two men who allegedly stole a Rolex wristwatch at gunpoint from a man shortly after he drove to his Redondo Beach home from a hair salon on Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance.

Authorities were investigating whether the suspects were connected to similar robberies last month in Palos Verdes Estates and Rolling Hills Estates in which Rolex watches were taken at gunpoint from their owners shortly after they arrived home from shopping.

The suspects, Wilbur Arbon, 20, and Derek Martin, 20, both of Los Angeles, were arrested on suspicion of robbery, police said.

In the Redondo Beach incident, which took place shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, Ernesto Tan had just pulled into the driveway of his home in the 300 block of South Broadway, when he was approached by two men, said Lt. John Nelson of the Redondo Beach police.

“One pointed a revolver at him and said, ‘I’m going to kill you, give me your watch,’ ” Nelson said. After Tan handed over his watch, the two men asked for his wallet, but Tan refused.

Tan yelled to his wife, who was inside the house, to phone the police, Nelson said. At the same time, a relative of Tan’s drove up.

The suspects ran, got into a yellow compact car and sped away. They were arrested about two hours later after police stopped a car in Torrance matching the description of the one involved in the robbery, Nelson said.

As the car was pulled over, at Pacific Coast Highway near Aero Way, police saw an object being thrown from the car and found a Rolex watch nearby, Nelson said. That watch, with an inscription on the back, was identified by a deputy at the scene as fitting the description of a watch stolen two hours earlier in Rolling Hills Estates.

In that robbery, a Rolex worth an estimated $2,000 and $45 in cash were taken at gunpoint from Ahmed Abdel-Ghaffar shortly after he arrived at his home on Moccasin Lane near Palos Verdes Drive North about 7 p.m. Wednesday, sheriff’s deputies said.

Tan said Thursday night that the 18-karat gold watch, which he bought for $1,500, had not yet been recovered.

“We’re pretty sure (the suspects) are the same” men who robbed Abdel-Ghaffar, said Detective Bill Coffey of the Lomita sheriff’s station, which provides law enforcement for Rolling Hills Estates.

Palos Verdes Estates police are also investigating whether the robberies are connected to a Nov. 13 incident in which a woman was robbed of a $6,000 Rolex watch and her purse, said Lt. Mike Tracy.

In another robbery of a Rolex--which took place in a West Los Angeles car dealership on Nov. 13--a man was shot after refusing to give up a $20,000 watch. The victim has recovered but no one has been arrested, said Lt. Ron Hall of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Hall said Rolex robberies are taking place all over the city.

Police advise Rolex owners not to wear the watches in public places like malls.

“People with Rolex watches are very easy targets,” Nelson said. “Rolexes are heavy watches, they hang down, and they’re made that way to be shown off. It’s an easy hit, especially this time of year when there are a lot of people at the shopping malls.”