PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A purported member of the Almighty Latin Kings gang has been held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder in the stabbing death a man at a Rhode Island hookah lounge.
Joel Francisco faces a first-degree murder charge in the death Oct. 2 of Troy Pine at the Nara Lounge in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood.
The 41-year-old Francisco was referred to the public defender’s office Monday.
Prosecutors say Francisco stabbed Pine following a confrontation.
He fled the state and was arrested by federal marshals on Oct. 19 in New Braunfels, Texas, as he allegedly tried to make it to Mexico.
