Shore-area town’s deputy mayor pleads guilty to DUI

Hamilton Township Deputy Mayor Charles Cain has pleaded guilty to drunken driving and refusing to submit to a breath test, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Cain was arrested on Jan. 22, 2011, on suspicion of drunk driving.

On Thursday, Cain admitted in court that he had been drinking the night he was stopped at Testa's Good Guys Pub in Mays Landing and that it "deleteriously affected" his ability to drive.

Cain also acknowledged that he refused to submit to a chemical breath test, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel said in a statement.

Municipal Court Judge Louis Belasco suspended Cain's license for 10 months, fined him $562 and ordered that an ignition interlock device be installed on any vehicles he drives after he gets his license back.

Cain must also complete a program at the Intoxicated Resource Center.

The Press of Atlantic City is reporting that Cain's attorney, Louis Barbone, has already filed an appeal of the sentence.

Cain has claimed that he was targeted by police in retaliation for police layoffs.

Cain was originally stopped on Clarkstown Road in Hamilton Township. Police said he had been driving 42 mph in a 25 mph zone, and nearly struck a police vehicle.

The officer in the vehicle, Hamilton Township Police Officer Peter Burns, pulled Cain over, and said he smelled alcohol on his breath.

Cain failed field sobriety tests and was arrested. He gave one breath sample at the police station, but refused to give a second sample.