4 charged in $500k watch thefts at Strip nightclub

Four people have been charged in connection with the theft of two watches, valued at a total of more than $500,000, from guests at the LIV nightclub inside Fontainebleau.

Police said that the suspects conspired to steal the watches on two separate occasions, crowding victims in the club as a distraction while they stole the watch.

Johan Hernandez-Castillo, Milton Castillo Martinez, Briyith Munoz Noak and Laura Vargas Reyes were all charged with grand larceny after Fontainebleau’s security team used facial recognition software to identify them on the property Friday, according to Martinez’s arrest report.

The four suspects were detained at the hotel and taken into custody by Metropolitan Police Department officers.

One man, Ye Zaw, had his limited edition Richard Mille watch, worth $400,000, stolen at LIV nightclub on Aug. 17, police said.

Zaw told police that he had been at the club with friends just before 2 a.m. when he went to the restroom. On his way out, Zaw found himself surrounded by a group of men who pushed and bumped him as he tried to navigate through the crowd.

It was only later that Zaw realized his watch had been stolen, according to police. Surveillance footage reviewed by the club’s management team corroborated Zaw’s account, showing him enter the bathroom as a group of men monitored his movements.

The footage showed Zaw without his watch on after the crowd cleared.

Nearly a month later on Sept. 15, the same suspects “smothered” a second victim, Roman Loyfenfeld, who was wearing a Richard Mille watch worth $120,000.

Loyfenfeld was on the main dance floor at LIV nightclub when a group approached and surrounded him. Surveillance footage showed Loyfenfeld involved in a “scuffle,” before multiple men ran away.

It was then that Loyfenfeld realized his watch was missing, according to Martinez’s arrest report.

Police called the suspects a “coordinated unit,” and wrote in the arrest report that the events were “not at all by coincidence.”

“They showed clear planning and coordination, by surrounding their victims and creating a diversion or friction with their bodies to distract the victim from the watches being taken off their risk,” police said in the report.

All four suspects are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 22.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinson.bsky.social on Bluesky.