‘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.

Jackson-Kavanaugh tensions surface in candid exchange over Supreme Court ‘shadow docket’

Have you seen these people? One of them might be your next president

Gas prices surge, pinching Americans and handing the GOP a new midterm headache

Tennessee lawmakers push bill that could make them, and their donors, richer by triggering CVS closures

Trump Promises to Hit Iran ’20 Times Harder’ if it Doesn’t Comply with Demands

U.S. Military Took Out Iranian Who Was Planning to Kill Trump

Longtime House Dem swats down attack ad from millennial challenger: ‘I trust the voters’

‘Serious concerns’: GOP sounds alarm on taxpayer funds going to ‘high risk’ universities vulnerable to CCP

Trump warns Iran faces strikes ‘twenty times harder’ if nation refuses to heed warning and more top headlines

Trump Keeps Gifting Officials and Friends a Particular Brand of Shoes

Schools boost antisemitism grades in ADL report but students say hostility persists

Watch: The 4 Most Intense Lines Hegseth Had About Iran During ’60 Minutes’ Interview

All eyes on Georgia as Trump-backed candidate battles in high-stakes congressional showdown

Convicted coconspirators spill insider intel on antifa at Texas terrorism trial

Oregon judge limits federal agents’ tear gas use at Portland ICE protests

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.”