Defendants allegedly robbed jewelry store at gunpoint stealing $500,000 worth of gold and silver from a safe and torched the getaway vehicle
BOSTON – Yesterday, a criminal complaint was unsealed charging three men with the December 2023 armed robbery of a jewelry store in Lawrence, during which they allegedly stole over $500,000 worth of jewelry and precious metals.
Eric Rosario, a/k/a “Maniactico,” 26; Rosnel Polanco, 26; and Robert Santana, a/k/a “Amaury Perez,” a/k/a “Piccarine,” 29, all of Lawrence, were charged with one count each of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (commonly referred to as Hobbs Act robbery).
Santana was arrested yesterday. Rosario and Polanco were previously arrested on related state charges and remain in custody.
The defendants will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
According to charging documents, on Dec. 15, 2023, the defendants allegedly entered a Lawrence jewelry store armed with firearms.
Numerous employees of the store were present at the time, and it is alleged that the defendants robbed them of their jewelry and cell phones.
The defendants then allegedly pointed firearms at the victims’ heads and pressed the firearms to their backs as they brought the victim employees downstairs to the basement where the jewelry store’s office and safes were located.
Once downstairs, the defendants allegedly forced the owner of the store to open the safes containing the jewelry and other precious metals.
In total, approximately $500,000 in jewelry and precious metals are alleged to have been taken.
The second safe could not be successfully opened. It is alleged that the defendants then fled the scene in a rented Nissan Altima that was later found burned and torched in a field in Maine the following day.
The charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; John E. Mawn, Jr., Interim Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; and Lawrence Police Chief Millix Bonilla made the announcement.
Valuable assistance was provided by the Cumberland County (Maine) Sheriff’s Department (Maine) and the Norway (Maine) and Oxford (Maine) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.