Ex-Latin King convicted of killing 2 released

NEW HAVEN — Luis Noel Cruz, convicted of killing two

New Haven men in Bridgeport in 1994, has been freed from prison to care for his ailing mother, after U.S. District Court Judge Janet C. Hall granted his motion for compassionate release.

Cruz was sentenced to life in prison for killing Tyler White and Arosmo “Rara” Diaz as part of racketeering offenses committed while he was a member of the Latin Kings.

In March, Attorney W. Theodore Koch, representing Cruz, argued that the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the opportunity to care for his mother, the relative harshness of his life sentence, the possibility of considering his age, 18, at the time of the offense, and Cruz’s “extraordinary rehabilitation” while in prison were sufficient reasons to compel Hall to commute Cruz’s sentence and compassionately release him.

Hall concurred in her ruling Friday, saying Cruz’s arguments rose to the standard of being “extraordinary and compelling,” as required under federal law.

In considering the severity of Cruz’s sentence, she noted Cruz had committed the slayings soon after his 18th birthday, before, based on modern scientific understanding, his brain had fully developed.

On top of that, the average federal sentence for murder between 2011 and 2020 was 22 years, she said. Cruz effectively has served almost 31 years in prison.

“The effect is that Cruz, who was less than fully blameworthy for his crimes given his age when he committed them, will end up serving significantly more time than adults who, fully blameworthy for their conduct, have committed the same crimes,” Hall wrote in her decision.

Hall, drawing on the line of reasoning about the brain development of adolescents, previously resentenced Cruz to 35 years in prison in February 2019. At that time, Hall extended the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miller v. Alabama, in which the court found that imposing a life sentence to a juvenile convicted of murder violates the Eighth Amendment unless the adolescent’s crime represents “irreparable corruption,” to Cruz.

The decision later was overturned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where three judges noted that Cruz was 18, which was considered an adult in other similar cases.

Cruz has multiple risk factors for COVID-19, Hall said in her decision Friday, which has, in and of itself, led to the compassionate release of other people serving prison sentences.

He also has the opportunity to aid his mother, who is bed-bound as she suffers from a terminal disease, Hall said.

While he has other siblings in the area — which prosecutors argued meant his presence is not necessary — Cruz, as a live-in caregiver, can be present in emergency situations, when no one else is available, Hall wrote.

And Cruz, she said, had grown noticeably as a person while in prison.

Over 26 years, he never received a disciplinary ticket — Hall said she could only recall one other inmate who had achieved the same over a similar period of incarceration — maintained a job as a clerk for UNICOR, receiving laudatory remarks from supervisors, and has “committed to bettering himself,” taking more than 60 courses and earning a paralegal certificate.

“The court’s view of Cruz’s life post-sentencing can be summed up in a single word: transformed,”

Hall wrote.

As part of that transformation, Hall said, Cruz had accepted responsibility for his involvement in the killing of White and Diaz, she said.

Although he denied involvement at his initial trial, “Cruz expressed deep remorse for his actions” at later proceedings “and demonstrated, as not all defendants do, that he understands the devastating and irrevocable impact those actions have wreaked on the victims’ families,” Hall said.

Neither the family of Cruz nor the family of White could be reached for comment. Tyler White was the son of then New Haven police Detective William “Billy” White.

Tyler White’s family previously objected to Cruz’s petition for habeas corpus in February 2019, and again to his motion for compassionate release in March, citing the pain and strife he has caused them.

In March, Nancy White, Tyler White’s stepmother, said White’s mother had become ill after his passing; his father had been “consumed by guilt and grief that has robbed him of peace.” His daughter, an infant at the time of the killing, had grown up without a father.

“(Cruz) is the direct cause of such unmitigated suffering that words continue to fall short in our attempts to explain the chaos, the heartache, and the utter anguish he has inflicted upon our family,” said Nancy White.

Hall described the impact of the murder on the White family as “enormous,” but said she believed Cruz had shown genuine remorse for his actions. “In the court’s view, Cruz’s remarks were genuine and unequivocal, and reflect an honest appreciation for the lasting pain he has caused,” Hall wrote.

Hall, citing the impact of the pandemic and the condition of Cruz’s mother, as well as the other factors at hand, resentenced him to 30 years, or time served.

In her ruling, Hall said Cruz would remain on supervised release for five years. Cruz will move to Florida to live with his mother and participate in mental health treatment, Hall said in a separate order.

Koch said in a statement Monday that Cruz had been released, and was now with his family. He thanked Hall for her courage in making the decision.

“I can’t fathom the pain that the families of murder victims live with every day. I also can’t fathom living in a society in which we keep reformed, rehabilitated, and wonderful men such as Mr. Cruz locked away until they die, simply out of retribution,” said Koch. “I think Judge

Hall’s decision took great courage and wisdom, and I wish more judges would show those traits more often.”

Prosecutors John T. Pierpont Jr. and Patricia Stolfi Collins did not return a request for comment Monday.

Asked about the possibility of an appeal, Tom Carson, media liaison for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, said prosecutors were “reviewing the decision” and had no further comment at this time.