Paulsboro Mayor Willard J. Hamilton pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and apologized to his community Wednesday, claiming that medication for hypertension and bronchitis exacerbated the effects of alcohol in his system.

Hamilton, who has been mayor of the borough since 2012, was arrested following an anonymous 9-1-1 call reporting an erratic driver on Paulsboro Road in Woolwich Township on Dec. 20, 2014.

After a field sobriety test and multiple attempts on the breathalyzer test, he was charged with driving under the influence, refusal to submit breath samples, reckless driving and failure to maintain a lane.

In municipal court in Carneys Point Wednesday morning, Hamilton's attorney Charles Block argued that multiple medications to fight a bout of bronchitis, mixed with long-term hypertension medication and two drinks at a family party, had an adverse effect on his client that he had not anticipated.

"Mr. Hamilton appears here, he is remorseful. He made a mistake," Block said. "He didn't know the affect it would have on him."

Hamilton admitted to drinking one 12-ounce beer and a shot of brandy about two hours before leaving his brother's Woolwich Township home and beginning to drive home to Paulsboro before he was stopped.

In addition to those drinks, he was on five different hypertension medications, an oral inhaler, antibiotics, and asthma medications.

The refusal to submit a breath sample charge was dismissed on the basis that the medications documented by Hamilton's physician caused shortness of breath that would impede a proper breathalyzer sample.

Judge Jason D. Witcher sentenced him to a three-month loss of license, $743 in fines, surcharges and court costs and a 12-hour Intoxicated Driver Resource Center program.

He also discussed Hamilton's public position and the scrutiny he will receive due to that post.

"Some of the public officials and people who hold positions of public trust, with that does come some authority and some public influence...Because of the position you hold you will be held accountable," he said. "While the sentence I give you here may be more of an inconvenience, certainly the sentence you will have to face in the public eye is much more substantial."

Outside of municipal court on Wednesday, Hamilton addressed his plea, saying that he didn't realize his medication had the negative effect that they did.

"I want to take this opportunity to apologize to my community, the citizens that I represent and my lovely family," he said. "Yes, I made a mistake and now it's been rectified and we can move on."

Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.