Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Jeffry Rosario (age 23), of Pawtucket, was sentenced yesterday by Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause for his role in an August 2017 home invasion in which the defendant pretended to a police officer. Rosario had pleaded guilty on February 1, 2017 to one count of first degree robbery, one count of burglary, one count of conspiracy, and one count of resisting arrest. He was sentenced to 30 years, with 14 years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that at approximately 2:00 a.m. on August 19, 2017, Rosario and co-defendants Jose Montes (age 33), of Cranston, Adrian Pagan (age 27), of Providence, and Jose Resto (age 24), of Providence, broke into a residence on Alverson Avenue in Providence, detained the residents and stole a dog and other items of value.
Rosario knocked on the door of the residence and identified himself as a police officer dispatched for a wellbeing check. As one of the residents, a male, opened the door, Rosario, who was wearing dark clothes, a badge and a bullet proof vest, and had on his body a flashlight, walkie talkie and a holster with a BB gun, pushed in the door and restrained the resident using hand cuffs. A second resident, a female, came to the door at which time Rosario, along with co-defendant Adrian Pagan, struggled to restrain her with tape, zip ties and pepper spray.
A third man, later identified as Montes, entered the residence where he and Pagan began rummaging through the residence while Rosario kept watch over the residents. A fourth man, later identified as Jose Resto, stayed outside the residence as a lookout, communicating with the other three with a cell phone.
The female victim was able to escape and ran to a neighbor's house for assistance. At this point, the four defendants fled the scene, taking a dog named Major and other items of value.
Police responded to the scene and the victims provided a description of Rosario. A week later, an individual matching that description was arrested along with Pagan. That led police to Montes' residence in Cranston, where he was arrested and Major was located unharmed.
The State would have also proved that Resto had previously done construction work on the residence.
"The brazen plot to impersonate police officers to perpetrate a violent home invasion is particularly chilling," said Attorney General Kilmartin. "Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. And, because the residents were able to identify Rosario, Providence Police was able to stop him before he and his co-defendants were allowed to terrorize others using the same ruse."
Montes, Pagan, and Resto have all pleaded to their role in the home invasion. Pagan was previously sentenced to 18 years with eight years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation. Montes is scheduled to be sentenced on February 16, 2018 and Resto is scheduled to be sentenced on February 23, 2018.
Providence Police Detective Michael Otrando led the investigation and Special Assistant Attorney General Joseph McBurney prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.