WARWICK, R.I. - A city councilman who was charged in June with driving under the influence and a felony weapons charge, last week pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated, according to the attorney general's office.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said that as part of a plea bargain agreement, the weapons charge initially filed against Charles J. "C.J." Donovan was dropped.
Donovan, 43, is serving his seventh term on the City Council and is the son of former Mayor Charles J. Donovan Sr.
He was charged with driving under the influence, refusing a chemical test to determine intoxication and carrying a weapon while under the influence late in June after he was stopped on Jefferson Boulevard.
According to the police, Donovan was traveling at 65 mph in a 35-mph zone and was observed straddling two lanes of traffic just before 1 a.m. on Tuesday, June 25.
After he was stopped, the police saw that Donovan had a 9mm Ruger semiautomatic gun on the passenger-side floor of his car.
The police said at the time that the gun was in a weapon case that was in a clear plastic bag and that it was not loaded and there was no ammunition in the car. Police said that the gun was not locked and did not have a safety device, such as a trigger lock.
Donovan works at the State House as a policy analyst for the House of Representatives.
On Tuesday Donovan issued a statement apologizing for a "serious error in judgment."
He said that he'd had dinner and "several beers" with friends while watching a Boston Bruins Stanley Cup championship game before driving home.
"I am not happy with my decision and I am thankful that no one was hurt," he said.
"It was a major error in judgment on my part that will never happen again."
Regarding the gun, Donovan said that he had purchased it for home protection and it had never been used when he and his wife decided they did not want a gun in the house.
"My intent was to return this unused, legally owned firearm back to the store where I purchased it," he said.
"Unfortunately, instead of going right to the store, I went out with friends to watch the Bruins game with the intent to return it the next day."
According to Kilmartin's office, Donovan pleaded guilty to a first offense of driving under the influence. The chemical test refusal charge, which is handled by the state's Traffic Tribunal rather than court, was dropped.
The attorney general's office said that Donovan's license has been suspended for three months, he must pay a $100 fine plus about $680 in court costs and must perform 10 hours of community service.
The state said he is also required to attend a driver education program.
The original version of this story was published at 6:15 p.m.; it was updated at 7:15 p.m.