Four times the limit: NJ mayor’s DUI with 2-year-old ends in PTI deal

🔴Former Lumberton mayor admits DUI with then 2-year-old son in the car

🔴Gina LaPlaza was sentenced to 3 years of PTI

🔴Despite backlash, LaPlaca remains on township committee and is seeking reelection

LUMBERTON — A former mayor charged with driving drunk with her then 2-year-old son in the car has been sentenced to three years of pre-trial intervention after pleading guilty to driving under the influence.

Lumberton Township Committee Member Gina LaPlaca, 46, who was serving as mayor at the time of the incident, was captured on body cam on St. Patrick's Day in 2025 pulling into her driveway and being given a sobriety test by police as her son watched. After a sobriety test found LaPlaca driving while four times the legal limit, she was handcuffed and arrested.

Her application for PTI was initially rejected by the Superior Court's Criminal Case Management Office. However, on Monday, the Democrat pled guilty to driving under the influence and was sentenced to three years of supervision as part of a PTI program, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw. She also pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree charge of child abuse.

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Political fallout as LaPlaca seeks reelection

The court also ordered her to continue participating in Alcoholics Anonymous and to install an ignition interlock device on her vehicle. It will prevent it from starting if the driver has consumed alcohol.

LaPlaca said that she already had one installed on her car in October. She also presented proof that she completed an outpatient treatment program for alcoholism at a recovery center.

Failure to abide by the terms of her sentence could mean being sentenced to the fourth-degree child abuse charge she pleaded guilty to.

NJ Globe was first to report on the sentence.

Despite public pressure to resign or for the committee to remove her from office, LaPlaca has remained in office and is seeking reelection.

The position of mayor is appointed by the committee, not elected. Terrance Benson, LaPlaca's former running mate, is now the mayor.

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