Ryan DaCruz, Felon in Possession of Ammunition, Rhode Island 2024

Ryan DaCruz, a 28-year-old Providence and Central Falls resident, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

DaCruz, described in court documents as a member of a ‘dangerous Providence Street gang and a driver of violence within that group,’ pleaded guilty on January 30, 2024, to a charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition.

On May 31, 2023, as part of an ongoing Project Safe neighborhoods investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents, 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.

According to court documents, DaCruz’s affiliation with the East Side gang dates back to at least 2016. In a video filmed in 2016, DaCruz is seen 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 were in reference to Chad Brown, a rival Providence gang.

Court records show 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 investigation was led by ATF, Providence Police Department, and Central Falls Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence in communities nationwide.

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