WARWICK – City Councilwoman Donna Travis received a one-year suspended sentence and one year of probation after pleading no contest Tuesday in Kent County Superior Court to one misdemeanor count of filing a false document, according to the office of R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha.
The charge stemmed from an investigation by Rhode Island State Police which allegedly uncovered evidence that Travis, a representative of the city’s 6th Ward, illegally transferred a parcel of property to herself from the Oakland Beach Real Estate Owners Association.
Travis was arraigned in the Third Division of District Court before Judge J. Terrance Houlihan Jr. As a stipulation of the plea, she was ordered to return the property, which abutted her residence, to the association.
The association had sued Travis in 2023 alleging Travis improperly transferred the Oakland Beach Avenue property, assessed at $40,300 at the time.
In August 2023, The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc. filed a federal lawsuit against the Warwick City Council after resident Rob Cote was barred the previous month from speaking at a council meeting about the allegations of ethical misconduct against Travis.
Cote had asked to address allegations from a local news report regarding the land acquisition during the public comment period, after which Travis cut him off from speaking about it, claiming it did not involve city government.
Cote was subsequently removed from the meeting by a Warwick police officer.
Travis later said she relied upon an unwritten City Council policy against “personal attacks” during the public comment period when deciding to ban Cote from speaking.
Travis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com