‘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.

Elite school teacher known as ‘Mr Wonderful’ accused of heinous crimes against students

Bombshell New Photos Change the Story for Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel, Move Timeline Years Earlier

Trump Cabinet member scraps Obama-era gender identity housing rule, cites ‘biological reality’

Prominent UFO Researcher Dies in Colorado

ICE nabs illegal aliens convicted of child sex crimes and meth trafficking in nationwide enforcement sweep

Former North Carolina police officer arrested for allegedly planning mass shooting at New Orleans festival

Long Island PTA mom accused of stealing $50K from elementary school while she served as NYPD officer

‘Storage Wars’ Star Darrell ‘The Gambler’ Sheets Found Dead in His Home

Former AG Tells CNN’s Tapper: VA Supreme Court Likely to Invalidate Redistricting Referendum, Possibly 7-0

Todd Blanche targets record denaturalizations in citizenship fraud crackdown

RFK Jr. Blasts Canada’s ‘Abhorrent’ Assisted Suicide Laws: US Can’t Be ‘Moral Society’ by Embracing Them

‘Lame duck’: Jeffries rips DeSantis after Florida invitation as redistricting fight heats up

Transgender Arrested for Allegedly Kidnapping Child and Taking Him Overseas for Gender Surgery

Dems jockeying for Newsom endorsement give passing grades on issue that ignited ‘poop map’ crisis

Report: Iran’s New Supreme Leader to Need Prosthetic Leg After Being Wounded in Strike That Killed His Father

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.”