On the morning of December 4, 2020, a tragic event unfolded in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. Devin Delacruz, a 22-year-old Black/African American male, was with his friend, Nazaski Carrasco Smith, in a parked silver Toyota Venza. The two were situated at the corner of Putnam and Kossuth Streets, engaged in the simple, everyday task of waiting to pick up Smith's four-year-old son from his school bus stop. The quiet morning was shattered at approximately 11:22 a.m.
when a hooded figure approached their vehicle on foot. Without warning, the individual fired six 9-mm rounds into the car, striking both men twice before fleeing.
The sudden violence left a devastating wake. Emergency personnel arrived at the scene and transported both victims to Rhode Island Hospital. Despite medical efforts, Devin Delacruz was pronounced dead. His friend, Nazaski Carrasco Smith, survived the attack but had to undergo several surgeries for his injuries. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the assailant made a quick escape. The hooded individual ran to a black Nissan Altima that had just pulled up, jumped into the car, and was driven away from the scene. The attack, which was later determined to be the result of a gang-related feud, had claimed one life and irrevocably altered another.
Investigators from the Providence Police Department immediately began the work of tracking down those responsible. Their attention focused on the getaway car, a black Nissan Altima. They discovered the vehicle was a rental and, through GPS coordinates from the rental company, traced it to a Courtyard Marriott hotel in the nearby city of Lincoln. In the early hours of December 5, just a day after the fatal shooting, Providence and Lincoln police apprehended 23-year-old Justin Chandler and his girlfriend at the hotel. A search yielded crucial evidence, including Chandler's cell phone and the Nissan Altima. Investigators used surveillance video and cell site data to piece together Chandler's movements, confirming that he drove the shooter to and from the scene of the crime.
Justin Chandler was charged for his role in the murder. After a seven-day trial in June 2023, a jury found him guilty of a multitude of charges, including first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and assault with a dangerous weapon. The evidence presented by the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Chandler had participated in the planned attack. In October 2023, he was sentenced for his crimes. A judge handed down two consecutive life sentences, in addition to another concurrent life sentence, ensuring he would spend the remainder of his life in prison. While justice was served for the getaway driver, the identity of the hooded person who actually fired the shots remains unknown.
