Man arrested after assaulting RIC staff member

Mel Rising Dawn Cordeiro

News Editor

Rhode Island College was shaken by an incident on Tuesday morning when a man not affiliated with the college allegedly assaulted a member of the housekeeping staff. According to Campus Police Chief James Mendonca, the man arrived at RIC after getting off a RIPTA bus and entered Roberts Hall.

RIC's Roberts Hall – Photo by Kelcy Conroy

The situation quickly escalated when the man engaged in an altercation with a housekeeping staff member. "The individual was alleged to have assaulted the staff member and was taken into custody by the Providence Police Department," Mendonca stated.

Providence Police later identified the suspect as 31-year-old Keveon Gomera, who was charged with one count of simple assault. The staff member, who as of this writing has not been identified, was immediately transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Though the assault is concerning, Mendonca emphasized that this appears to be an isolated incident. "This incident by all accounts is isolated, and there is no ongoing threat to campus safety," he assured in his statement.

As a result of the altercation, Gomera has been banned from the RIC campus. 

This is not the first time Gomera has had a run-in with law enforcement at a college. In 2020, Gomera was involved in a disturbing incident at Providence College, where he painted swastikas on gravestones, attempted to set them on fire and assaulted a security guard who confronted him. Gomera also has other previous charges, including breaking and entering, willful trespass, assaulting a police officer and numerous parole violations. He has had multiple warrants issued against him in the past for failure to appear for his court dates. His most recent trial ended in August of last year when he originally pleaded not guilty, then changed his plea to no contest. He was sentenced to 3 years of probation, but only served 6 months, having been granted credit for time served. He was also ordered to undergo 1 month of outpatient treatment for reasons not disclosed on court documents. 

Pre-trial conference for this case has been scheduled for April 15. Gomera has not yet retained an attorney and is currently being held on $1,000 bond. 

RIC police have been working closely with local law enforcement to ensure the safety of the campus community. This event has raised concerns about the security of non-students on campus, but authorities are confident that measures are in place to prevent further incidents.

Students and faculty are urged to stay alert and report any suspicious activity to campus police.