Associated Press photo
Walker Buehler’s Day Off: Dodgers Pitcher Robbed Of Expensive Watch At Santa Anita
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler was the victim of a “snatch and grab” robbery of an expensive wristwatch while attending the California Crown races at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., on Sept. 28.
Buehler, a 30-year-old native of Lexington, Ky., is a longtime horse racing fan who owned a small interest in 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. Scheduled to start Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres Tuesday night, Buehler had the day off Sept. 28 while the Dodgers were playing their final regular season series against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
As first reported by ABC 7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, Buehler was at Santa Anita with his wife, McKenzie Marcinek, when they were surrounded by a group of people, one of whom unbuttoned his shirtsleeve and took his watch, said to be worth $100,000.
Excel Sports Management, which represents Buehler, issued the following statement on the incident:
"Following Walker’s final regular season start on 9/27, he and a number of other players did not travel to Colorado for the final regular season series. That weekend, Walker and his wife McKenzie, were attending horse races at Santa Anita Park. While walking from the paddock to their seats, Walker was unknowingly the victim of a snatch and grab robbery of his watch. The incident was reported to police and is currently under investigation. We are grateful Walker and McKenzie were not harmed and Walker is focused on the playoffs."
The Arcadia Police Department said there were three separate reports of grand theft during the afternoon at Santa Anita, which featured musical entertainment between and after the races and attracted a crowd of 21,812.
In one instance, police said, a victim was walking through the crowd when "encircled by a group of unknown suspects (who) limited the movement of of the victim, creating confusion. While the movement of the victim was limited, one of the suspects was able to remove the victim's watch from their wrist."
In a second incident, the victim had their watch removed from their wrist but didn't notice for several hours.
The third incident was an aborted robbery when three suspects approached a victim and one attempted to embrace that person. The victim felt a watch being removed and confronted the suspect. One of the suspects, 24-year-old Camilo Nino-Hernandez of Los Angeles, was taken into custody by Santa Anita Security and Arcadia Police and charged with grand theft and possession of a fraudulent Social Security card.
"Based on the initial investigation," Arcadia Police Department said in a statement, "it appears all three victims were targeted by different, organized groups of people whose sole purpose was to steal high-end watches through distraction and utilizing the large crowds at the event to create confusion."
Police did not identify the victims. Anyone with information on these incidents is encouraged to contact the Arcadia Police Department at 626 574-5151, case numbers 2404104, 2404106 and 2404109.
A spokesperson from Santa Anita told Paulick Report: “We are fully cooperating with the Arcadia Police Department’s investigation.”
The full news release from Arcadia Police Department is below:
