(Updated, 3:25, Jan. 16) PROVIDENCE — An alleged hit-and-run traffic case involving former Ward 4 City Councilor Brian Faria dating back to the late fall of 2018 was recently adjudicated in State Superior Court with the Riverside resident potentially facing no further legal action going forward.

Mr. Faria entered a plea of not guilty, which was accepted by the Attorney General’s office and the court. According to both Mr. Faria’s lawyer and the prosecuting solicitor, the case was placed on file for the period of one year retroactive to August 29, 2019, meaning if Mr. Faria avoids illegal activity of any kind through that date in 2020 the charges will be expunged from his record. If he does violate the terms of the filing, the case could be revisited by the court.

“The not guilty filing in Brian Faria's case means just what it says, ‘he is not guilty,’ a fact which the state concurred in,” Mr. Faria’s attorney, John F. Cicilline, said.

According to state prosecutor John E. Sullivan III, who litigated the case on behalf of the AG’s office, what was determined in open court was that there were no claims outstanding on the matter and that no restitution was due.

Mr. Sullivan, reached for comment Thursday, Jan. 16, declined to discuss the case in detail, saying only, “When we looked at facts, we thought it was the appropriate decision.”

Mr. Faria was cited by the East Providence Police Department for two violations from an alleged hit-and-run motor vehicle accident in city on November, 24, 2018: “operating without evidence of insurance and intervals between vehicles (following too close).”

However, Mr. Faria’s counsel countered the claims made in the accident report. Through his attorney, Mr. Cicilline, he later requested the case be moved from District to Superior Court, which it was. During the proceedings, the defense presented several pieces of evidence rebuffing statements made by witnesses to the alleged collision, which supposedly took place on the ramp leading to Interstate 195 from Warren Avenue.

Mr. Faria, who served one term on the council and did not seek re-election in 2018, released the following statement on the matter, “I’m very pleased that the Attorney General’s office and the court examined the facts of this case and the truth came out, as I knew it would, bringing this very hurtful matter to a close for both me and my family.”