Providence Gang Member Sentenced for Possessing Ammunition

PROVIDENCE, RI - A convicted felon described in court documents as being a member of a "dangerous Providence Street gang and a driver of violence within that group" was sentenced today to two years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Ryan DaCruz, 28, of Providence and Central Falls, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to 24 months of incarceration to be followed by two years of federal supervised released. DaCruz pleaded guilty on pleaded guilty on January 30, 2024, to a charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

On May 31, 2023, in support of an ongoing Project Safe neighborhoods investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, along with officers and detectives from the Providence and Central Falls Police Departments, encountered DaCruz as he left a Central Falls apartment. A number of packages of marijuana, consistent with being packaged for sale, and several hundred dollars in cash bundled in different quantities were found in his backpack. Agents and officers followed DaCruz's arrest with a court-authorized search of the apartment DaCruz had just left and located a 30-round, Glock magazine for use in a 9mm Glock firearm, a clear plastic bag containing 14 rounds of commercially produced 9x19mm ammunition, and a small bag of suspected cocaine among his personal belongings.

As reflected in court documents, DaCruz's affiliation with the East Side gang dates back to at least 2016. DaCruz appears in a video filmed in 2016 that depicts him riding through a residence on a wheel board singing, holding what appears to be two pistols/revolvers. As the video ends, DaCruz pulls the triggers on both guns. The menacing lyrics of the song that he is singing in the video was in reference to Chad Brown, a rival Providence gang.

Court records illustrate that DaCruz was previously convicted and sentenced in Rhode Island state court on drug and firearms charges in crimes unrelated to the case heard today in federal court.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John P. McAdams and Paul F. Daly, Jr.

The matter was investigated by ATF, Providence Police Department, and Central Falls Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

###