A Dominican national living unlawfully in the United States has pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge in Rhode Island, according to an announcement from United States Attorney Charles C. Calenda.
Luis Alberto De Los Santos, 23, admitted in court on February 5, 2026, to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Sentencing is scheduled for April 27, 2026. He also faces possible deportation following sentencing. The sentence will be decided by a federal judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Court documents state that De Los Santos is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the United States on a travel visa in 2021 and was required to leave in 2022. On April 25, 2025, Providence Police saw De Los Santos with others in the Hartford neighborhood. He was wearing a ski mask and fled from police with a firearm before discarding it behind a building and continuing to run. Law enforcement determined he had possessed a .22 caliber pistol.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney G. Michael Seaman and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) along with the Providence Police Department.
According to the press release, “This investigation is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
