Husband of N.J. Mayor Charged with DUI While Their Toddler Was in Car Pleads for Public to ‘Leave Her Alone’

• Gina LaPlaca, 45, was arrested and charged with a DUI and other related offenses on March 17
• LaPlaca was also charged with child neglect and endangerment after allegedly having a near-fatal crash while driving drunk with her 2-year-old son in the car
• The mayor of Lumberton Township’s husband, Jason Carty, is urging “everyone to leave her alone” amid her “path to recovery” from addiction

The husband of a New Jersey town mayor who admitted to driving under the influence is defending her amid backlash that her 2-year-old son was endangered when she had a near-fatal crash while he was in the car.

Gina LaPlaca, 45, the mayor of Lumberton Township was arrested and charged with several offenses, including a DUI, reckless driving, child neglect and endangerment, driving under the influence, and driving with an expired license, PEOPLE previously reported.

Her admission to police on March 17 that she had been drinking “a little bit of vodka” has garnered widespread anger. Body cam footage released by the Lumberton Police Department also showed LaPlaca appearing to stagger and slur her speech while being arrested in her driveway after she admitted to drinking before picking up her son from daycare, per PennLive, and local stations ABC6 and NBC 10.

“It’s not like she’s the mayor of some big city,” LaPlaca’s husband Jason Carty told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Lumberton has only 13,000 people. All I want is for my wife to get better and for everyone to leave her alone.”

He added to the outlet that his wife is currently “in an inpatient facility and on a path to recovery.”

This is not the first time that Carty has spoken about his wife’s addiction following her arrest, as he shared an update on her situation on March 18.

“Millions of Americans struggle with addiction and never get help. Gina LaPlaca is someone who has struggled, and is now getting the help she needs,” Carty wrote on Facebook. “I ask that everyone keep her in their thoughts as she moves forward on her road to recovery.”

“Please ignore the exaggerated political hyperbole and keep in mind her passion for helping others,” he added. “This should not erase all the things she has accomplished for our community.”

Police arrived at LaPlaca’s home on March 17 after a witness saw a 2019 BMW driving “erratically” and “nearly hitting a utility pole” while a child sat in the rear car seat, PEOPLE previously reported.

She performed field sobriety tests and a plastic water bottle that an officer said reeked of alcohol was found in the car as police investigated. Police also found a small bottle of what appeared to be alcohol.

LaPlaca is due to appear in court on April 28 to face charges related to the incident.

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She responded to requests for her to resign as mayor in an email saying, “I will not be resigning my position,” according to Fox 29. “Our community needs to be more kind and understanding about people trying to better themselves. As we all know, there is a huge black eye and black cloud over our town right now.”

She was elected to the Lumberton Township Committee in 2020 and reelected in 2023 while also holding a job as Neptune Township business administrator since January 2022.

Her arrest last month came a week after she resigned from the latter role, local outlet Asbury Park Press reported.