An alleged disturbance early in the morning at the home of Lumberton Township Committeewoman Gina LaPlaca resulted in criminal charges against her highly controversial husband, Jason Carty, who serves as a member of the Rancocas Valley Regional High School Board of Education. Carty has also had a lengthy career as a Democratic operative.
The incident unfolded five days before an intense Democratic Party primary where LaPlaca is on the ballot for re-election and three months after she pleaded guilty to charges of child endangerment from a drunk-driving incident in 2025 with her child in the vehicle. According to local law enforcement officials, Carty has been slapped with several charges including aggravated assault by strangulation and harassment with the intent to cause alarm.
An official close to the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that Lumberton police responded to a call that came in around 6:45 a.m. Once they arrived on the scene they asked Carty to leave the residence. At that time, he was not taken into custody. The charges he now faces were filed later in the day.
According to the New Jersey Globe, the responding officer stated in a report that LaPlaca appeared to be drunk, reeking of alcohol, however, she denied that was the case. The incident was then turned over to the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. Sadly, this is just another in a long string of incidents involving the couple. Back in 2023, LaPlaca was arrested on charges of assaulting her husband. The charges were later dropped.
Another incident occurred in 2017, this one a verbal argument that took place after LaPlaca came home drunk, according to police records. Carty, who was then her boyfriend, left the home they shared together, along with his young son. Carty spoke with the New Jersey Globe and said he was considered “the bad guy in that incident” and revealed that LaPlaca was the victim of domestic violence during her college years.
In March 2025, police arrested LaPlaca, who was serving as the mayor of Lumberton at the time, after a hit-and-run incident on St. Patrick’s Day in the nearby town of Mount Laurel. Police tested her blood alcohol level and found it was four times the legal limit. Her young child was in her blue BMW during the incident. Law enforcement officers also found open containers inside the damaged vehicle.
LaPlaca initially requested PTI, but the court rejected it, later reversing course after hearing arguments from her attorney. The plea to a fourth-degree count of child endangerment and abuse resulted in three years of supervised probation under the state’s pretrial program. Part of the terms of her probation included continued treatment for her alcohol abuse, regular attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and other terms that were laid down by the state Department of Children and Families.
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Following that incident, LaPlaca lost her driver’s license for 90 days, however, a Superior court Judge gave her credit for having an interlocutory device installed in her vehicle that would test her alcohol level before it would start her vehicle. Her suspension was then reduced to 12 days. Earlier in May, LaPlaca was cited for driving with a revoked license, but she has denied those charges.
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