BOSTON — A Lawrence man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Boston to the armed robbery of a jewelry store in December 2023 that resulted in the theft of over $500,000 in jewelry and precious metals.
Rosnel Polanco, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery — commonly known as Hobbs Act robbery — according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton scheduled Polanco’s sentencing for Aug. 12, 2025.
Federal prosecutors said Polanco and his co-conspirators entered a Lawrence jewelry store armed with firearms on Dec. 15, 2023. Several employees were present at the time. The defendants allegedly robbed the workers of their jewelry and cell phones, then forced them at gunpoint into the basement where the store’s office and safes were located.
Once downstairs, Polanco and his accomplices allegedly ordered the store owner to open the safes, which contained jewelry and other precious metals, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. Authorities said the group stole approximately $500,000 in jewelry and precious metals from one of the safes. A second safe could not be opened.
The suspects fled in a rented Nissan Altima, which was found burned in a field in Maine the following day.
Polanco was charged in August 2024 alongside his co-conspirators, whose cases remain pending. The charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
