‘Latin Kings’ Gang Leader Freed by ‘First Step Act’ Arrested for Murder After Nationwide Manhunt

A notorious leader of the “Almighty Latin Kings” gang has been arrested for murdering a man less than a year after being freed from federal prison by the “First Step Act.”

Joel Francisco, 41, had been wanted since October 2nd for stabbing to death 46-year-old Troy Pine at a hookah lounge in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Rhode Island, Breitbart News reported. Last week, authorities confirmed that Francisco was arrested at a motel in the San Antonio, Texas area.

In February, Francisco — dubbed the “Crown Prince” of the Latin Kings gang in 2005 — was released from federal prison after President Donald Trump signed into law the First Step Act, promoted by a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and progressive and libertarian nonprofits.

According to an investigative report by the Providence Journal‘s Brian Amaral and Katie Mulvaney, Francisco was convicted in 2005 for dealing crack cocaine and powder cocaine. The conviction was Francisco’s third drug conviction, thus he was given a mandatory life sentence in federal prison.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump-led Kennedy Center nearly doubles fundraising from Biden era, smashing record with $23M haul

Hegseth hints major defense spending increase, reveals new details on Trump’s anti-narcoterrorism operations

Photos: Incredibly Creepy New Epstein Island Photos Released – Chilling Masks, Eerie Dentist Chair, Weird Writing on Chalkboard

Fact Check: Do Somalis Contribute More to Minnesota’s Bottom Line Than They Take?

Mass killings fall to lowest level in nearly two decades, national database shows

Amid Billion-Dollar Somali Fraud Scandal, Minn. Gov. Tim Walz Reveals What He’s ‘Deeply Concerned’ About: Trump Insult

Unhinged Maxine Waters’ Latest Preposterous Allegation: Trump Is a ‘Killer’

Murdaugh family housekeeper says white truck ‘haunts’ her from night of murders years after

Hegseth to highlight rebuilding the ‘Arsenal of Freedom’ in speech at Reagan National Defense Forum

Afghan watchdog: US taxpayer-funded weapons left behind have formed ‘core of the Taliban security apparatus’

Could This Be the End? Trump Moves to End Birthright Citizenship for Good, SCOTUS Agrees to Hear the Case

Victor Davis Hanson: Consequences Await Tim Walz After Somali Fraud Scandal

How the Feds Unmasked, Caught Jan. 6 Pipe Bomb Suspect

Tim Walz Whines to Reporters That People Are Calling Him the ‘R-Word’ – And It’s Trump’s Fault

911 calls from deadly Texas Hill Country flood reveal heartbreaking pleas

After Trump signed the First Step Act into law, though, Francisco had his life sentence for crack dealing reduced and he was released in February of this year, along with the other 3,100 convicts released this year by the new law.

Before his release, Francisco pleaded with the court that he had turned his life around, noting his taking part in rehabilitation programs in prison, which advocates of the First Step Act readily cited to make their case that even violent convicts could be reformed and thus released.

On July 13, about six months after being released from prison, Francisco was accused of breaking into the home of his ex-girlfriend and charged with domestic violence. Three months later, on October 2nd, police said Francisco stabbed Pine to death and immediately skipped town in an attempt to evade murder charges.

“I just want an answer,” Pine’s nephew Jay Chattelle told the Providence Journal. “I just want to know what happened to my uncle. But at the same time, you’re thinking, ‘Once this is all done, Uncle Troy is still not here.’”

Before his release from federal prison, Providence law enforcement officials warned that the former gang leader would likely commit additional crimes if released.

“Some criminals deserve to spend their lives incarcerated,” Providence Police Department Deputy Chief Thomas Verdi told the Providence Journal. “Joel is one.”