Man Arrested in Providence Homicide Was Being Represented by John Cicilline on Separate Gun Charges

Man Arrested in Providence Homicide Was Being Represented by John Cicilline on Separate Gun Charges

The man arrested by Providence police in the shooting of Melvin Ricardo Perez Reyes at a Broad Street laundromat in October had previously been arrested -- and released -- following separate gun charges in 2020, GoLocal has learned.

On Tuesday, Providence police announced that Johan Quinones, 22, of Providence, was arrested in New Jersey in connection to the deadly shooting during an attempted robbery on October 12, 2021. 

Rhode Island court records show that Quinones had two pending felony gun charges stemming from June 3, 2020 offenses, and that he had retained lawyer John Cicilline, brother of U.S. Congressman David Cicilline.

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Quinones had been due in court on October 22, 2021 for a status conference related to his 2020 felony charges of carrying a pistol or revolver without a license or permit, and being in possession of a stolen firearm.

He had fled the state however following the Broad Street shooting.

According to court records, Quinones also had a trial date scheduled for this coming December for his 2020 charges — which in light of his most recent arrest, has now been “canceled.”

 

"Catch and Release"

Court records show that Quinones’ June 2020 felony gun offenses were filed in Providence/Bristol Superior Court on October 14, 2020.

A pre-arraignment conference in December 2020 was canceled, as was a pre-trial conference in February 2021. 

At his arraignment on March 25, 2021, Quinones pleaded not guilty — and was released on $20,000 bail. 

There were two pre-trial conferences in June and a hearing in August, before Quinones was scheduled to appear for the status conference on October 22.

 

Cicilline Track Record

John Cicilline had served 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2008 for shaking down clients accused of drug offenses -- while his brother David Cicilline was serving as Mayor of Providence. 

Before reporting to prison, John Cicilline gave the city of Providence a bogus $75,000 check for taxes owed by a client. 

Cicilline's law license was reinstated in Rhode Island in 2014 and as a member of the federal court’s bar in June of this year.

John Cicilline did not respond to request for comment on Tuesday.