A 26-year-old man from Lawrence has pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing a local jewelry store at gunpoint, stealing over $500,000 in valuables.
Rossnell Polanco admitted on May 20 to conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, a crime known as Hobbs Act robbery. The plea was entered in U.S. District Court in Boston before Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, who scheduled sentencing for August 12, 2025.
Polanco was indicted in August 2024, along with two alleged co-conspirators.
The robbery happened on December 15, 2023. Prosecutors say Polanco and his accomplices entered the Lawrence jewelry store carrying firearms. Several employees were inside at the time. The suspects took jewelry and cell phones, then forced the workers at gunpoint into the store’s office and basement.
Once in the basement, the robbers reportedly ordered the store owner to open a safe. Inside were jewelry and precious metals worth about $500,000. A second safe could not be opened. After the theft, the suspects fled in a rented Nissan Altima.
The next day, that vehicle was found burned in a field in Maine.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal judge will decide the sentence, guided by U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and federal statutes.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the guilty plea. She was joined by Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker, Homeland Security Investigations New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol, Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Col. Geoffrey D. Noble, and Acting Lawrence Police Chief Millix Bonilla. Local law enforcement in Maine — including the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, Norway Police, and Oxford Police — assisted in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard, from the Organized Crime and Gang Section, is handling the prosecution.
The remaining defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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