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10/08 19:44 CDT Thieves slipped watch off Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler's
wrist, police say
Thieves slipped watch off Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler's wrist, police say
By JAIMIE DING
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Thieves surrounded Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher
Walker Buehler last month outside a horse racing track in a Los Angeles suburb
and slipped an expensive watch off his wrist as he jostled through the crowd,
police said Tuesday. It came weeks after another professional athlete in
California was the victim of a brazen mugging.
Buehler was not threatened during the theft Sept. 28 at the Santa Anita Park
horse racing track in Arcadia, police there said. They are investigating two
similar episodes the same day that officials say were by organized groups who
steal high-end watches in large crowds during events.
Buehler was at the track that day with his wife, McKenzie, and his teammate,
starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, to attend the inaugural California Crown races.
Buehler, a Lexington, Kentucky, native, is a major fan of the sport.
While walking from the paddock to his seat, Buehler was "unknowingly the victim
of a snatch and grab robbery of his watch," his agency, Excel Sports
Management, said in a statement.
"We are grateful Walker and McKenzie were not harmed and Walker is focused on
the playoffs," the agency said.
The Dodgers declined to comment and referred media to the Arcadia police.
In one of the three episodes of stolen watches being investigated that day,
police arrested a 24-year-old man from Los Angeles. Police said the value of
the watches stolen was $100,000 for one and $250,000 for the other. They did
not say which one was Buehler's.
The theft came days after Buehler's last regular-season game and a week before
the Dodgers began the National League Divisional Series against the San Diego
Padres on Saturday. Buehler is slated to start Game 3 of the series against the
Padres on Tuesday night in San Diego.
On Aug. 31, San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall was walking alone to his
car after shopping at luxury stores in San Francisco's Union Square when the
NFL player was robbed at gunpoint by a teenager who took his Rolex watch and
other expensive jewelry, prosecutors said.
A struggle ensued, and gunfire from the teen struck both Pearsall and the
suspect, who was shot in the arm. Pearsall was shot through the chest at close
range, officials said. His mother, Erin Pearsall, posted on social media that
the bullet went through the right side of her son's chest and out his back
without striking vital organs. He was released from the hospital a day later.
Smash-and-grab thefts have been captured on videos in cities from Los Angeles
to San Francisco and gone viral, feeding widespread concern about crime in the
state. Voters will decide on a ballot measure that would roll back parts of a
2014 law that made many nonviolent thefts misdemeanors instead of felonies.
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Associated Press reporter Beth Harris contributed to this report.
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