3 men stole jewelry and precious metals from a Lawrence store and burned down their getaway car, authorities say

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors filed charges against three men in connection with the armed robbery of a Lawrence jewelry store in December in which more than $500,000 worth of jewelry and precious metals were stolen.

Eric Rosario, 26, Rosnel Polanco, 26, and Robert Santana, 29, all residents of Lawrence, are each charged with conspiracy to impede commerce by robbery. Santana was arrested Wednesday, while Rosario and Polanco were already in custody on similar charges, according to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy.

All three men will appear in federal court in Boston at a “later date,” Levy’s office wrote in a statement.

According to prosecutors, the trio entered a Lawrence jewelry store armed on December 15, 2023. Numerous employees were in the store at the time and told police their jewelry and cell phones had been stolen, the statement said.

The three men are also accused of pointing guns at the victims’ heads and forcing the weapons to their backs while they took the employees to the basement, where the store’s office and safes were located, Levy’s office said.

Once downstairs, the trio forced the store owner to open the safes, the statement said. In total, jewelry and precious metals worth around $500,000 were stolen.

A second safe could not be opened, the public prosecutor’s office said.

After raiding the store, prosecutors said the trio fled in a rented Nissan Altima, which was found “burned and ablaze” in a field in Maine the next day.