Providence man pleads guilty to federal drug trafficking, firearm charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – A Providence man pleaded guilty Monday to federal firearm and drug charges after being arrested by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force.

Joel Figueroa, 25, was charged with two counts of distribution of crack cocaine and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to the R.I. District Attorney’s Office, Figueroa arranged on social media to sell five grams of cocaine and a firearm to an individual in February 2020. A month later, he sold the same person an additional seven grams of crack cocaine, also making that arrangement through social media.

The DA’s office says the individual was serving a five-year suspended state sentence for possession with the intent to deliver cocaine.

Figueroa faces up to 50 years in federal prison. He will be sentenced in November.