Member of "Dangerous Providence Street Gang" Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Ammunition

Member of "Dangerous Providence Street Gang" Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Ammunition

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 Thursday 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 release. 

DaCruz pleaded guilty on pleaded guilty on January 30, 2024, to a charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

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About Case

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. 

According to the U.S. Attorney, 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, said the U.S Attorney's office. 

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.