‘It’s a different world’: Man steals two watches worth $100,000 from Beverly Hills pedestrians

In terms of street robberies, they don’t get much more fruitful than this: Police in Beverly Hills say a thief stole two watches worth more than $100,000 off the wrists of two men on Rodeo Drive last week.

“It’s a different world,” said Beverly Hills Police Sgt. Max Subin.

The robber pulled a gun on the men as they walked in the city’s business district about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 21.

But along with great wealth comes great technology, and Beverly Hills has both.

Using the city’s “extensive video surveillance system,” police tracked where the thief ran after the robbery and identified the vehicle he used in his escape. The car was spotted in Inglewood and within 18 hours 22-year-old Kenyon Donester of Altadena was arrested, Subin said.

Police served a search warrant and found one of the watches, valued at $40,000, Subin said. The second watch, a Breguet Classique Hora Mundi Menus Watch with a serial number of 5717BR/EU/9ZU, is still missing. The watch is valued online at $63,000 but its retail price can reach as high as $78,900.

Donester has been charged with two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of identity theft. He pleaded not guilty and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. He’s due back in court Oct. 12.

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