Federal appeals court refuses to release ex-Latin Kings leader 'King Paradise' Sepulveda

PROVIDENCE — A federal appeals court has upheld a sentence of life in prison for the former leader of the Almighty Latin Kings street gang in Providence for racketeering and murder.

A 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Friday affirmed retired District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi’s determination that George “King Paradise” Sepulveda continues to pose a danger to the community, despite the passage of more than two decades since he was sentenced to three concurrent life terms.

The three-judge panel ruled that Lisi was correct in finding that there were no extraordinary and compelling circumstances that warranted Sepulveda’s release under the First Step Act. Passed by Congress in 2018, the law gives federal judges discretion to consider whether extraordinary and compelling factors exist that justify the reduction of a prison sentence.

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A jury convicted Sepulveda in 1997 after a 41-day trial for his role in the murder of Jose Mendez, an 18-year-old Mount Pleasant High School student found shot in the head behind the Rhode Island School for the Deaf. Sepulveda at the time served as the president of the Providence Latin Kings chapter and believed Mendez to be a leader of a rival gang.

Lisi imposed three concurrent life sentences against Sepulveda for his convictions on charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and murder in aid of racketeering, plus concurrent 20 and 10-year terms for other federal offenses.

Sepulveda challenged his sentence under the First Step Act, arguing extraordinary and compelling circumstances demanded his release, namely his youth at the time of his crimes; the length of his sentence, the equivalent of life without parole; and his strides toward rehabilitation.

He said his life of crime and gang affiliation began when he was 14 and continued until his arrest at 20 — a period he deems as "late adolescence" in which young offenders continue to battle impulse control, self-regulation and sensation-seeking behavior.

Lisi denied Sepulveda’s bid for compassionate release, finding that he still represented a danger to the community and dismissing his arguments that his crimes were a product of immaturity. Instead, the court observed that Sepulveda was 20 years old and acted as the leader of the street gang, not a follower.

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The district court reasoned, too, that “the passage of time did not render that lengthy sentence unreasonable considering the scope and gravity of Sepulveda's offenses.” Lisi found that his sentence was and is appropriate, given the nature of his crimes.

The appeals panel found that Lisi rightly determined that rehabilitation alone could not be an extraordinary and compelling reason for compassionate release.

“In sum, the district court acted well within its discretion when it rejected Sepulveda's array of alleged extraordinary and compelling reasons for compassionate release,” the appeals court said in a decision written by Judge Gustavo Antonio Gelpí Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren S. Zurier argued for the government, with William C. Dimitri representing Sepulveda.

The appeals ruling comes a week after Sepulveda’s co-defendant, Giovanni Lara, also sought compassionate release from his life term. Lara argues he is a changed person from the teenager and Almighty Latin Kings Nation gang member who participated in the carjacking and point-blank killing of Temujin VanDerGroen, an 18-year-old Community College of Rhode Island student.

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One of their associates, Joel Francisco, serving life behind bars for crack cocaine offense, was an early beneficiary of the First Step Act.

Francisco, 44, was released in early 2019, only to be implicated months later in the stabbing death of 46-year-old Troy Pine. He has pleaded not guilty in Pine's death.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Former Latin Kings Providence leader denied release from prison