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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - One of three documented gang members accused of carrying out an armed robbery at a Beverly Hills restaurant in which a customer was struck by gunfire and a $500,000 watch was taken is expected to plead guilty today to federal charges.
Marquise Gardon, 30, has agreed to enter the plea to charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and using a firearm in a crime of violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Co-defendants Khai McGhee, 18, and Malik L. Powell, 20, have pleaded not guilty in the case. All three are residents of South Los Angeles.
On March 4, at about 2:10 p.m., officers were called to Il Pastaio, a celebrity hangout on North Canon Drive, following a report of a robbery with gunfire. Officers arrived to find a woman who had been wounded.
The victim, who was not the intended target, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a spokesman for the Beverly Hills Police Department.
During the robbery, a restaurant patron was held at gunpoint while he was robbed of his Richard Mille wristwatch, worth about $500,000, according to prosecutors.
A struggle for the gun ensued, during which two rounds were discharged from the firearm, striking the woman in the leg. The handgun was dropped during the struggle and the robbers fled the scene with the victim's watch.
Based on a review of video surveillance footage and witness statements, a total of five individuals are believed to have been involved in the robbery crew, an affidavit states.
Law enforcement officials identified Powell and McGhee as two of the three alleged robbers, and Gardon allegedly drove the crew to or from the scene, according to the affidavit.
Powell's car -- a black BMW -- allegedly was used to bring the crew to and from the robbery, and his cell phone allegedly was tracked near Il Pastaio at the time of the robbery. Powell's social media accounts allegedly contained images of various guns and high-value wristwatches.
McGhee's DNA was found on the robbery victim's clothing following the struggle for the gun, the affidavit alleges. Surveillance footage shows Gardon getting out of the rear passenger seat and into the driver's seat of the getaway car just before the robbery, and his cell phone was tracked near the restaurant at the time of the robbery, court papers allege.
Officials also said surveillance footage shows the men scouting the area prior to the robbery.
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