MAYVILLE – The stepmother of two nationally known recording artists was briefly held in Chautauqua County Jail after police found her driving under the influence of drugs.

Ginger Carter, 39, of Mayville was handed the charge Thursday at 6:55 p.m. after a traffic stop on Potter Road in the town of Chautauqua.

Police were responding to a separate incident on Potter Road when they say Carter failed to signal a turn.

Further investigation revealed that Carter’s ability to operate the vehicle was being impaired by drugs and she was charged.

A check of Carter’s driving history showed that she was previously convicted of a DWI-related offense within the past 10 years, making the charge a felony.

Carter, who married Robert Carter in 2004, appeared on “House of Carters” in 2006 with her stepson Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys; stepson Aaron Carter, who himself is a solo recording artist; and her late stepdaughter Leslie Carter Ashton, who passed away at the family’s Potter Road home in February 2012 of an apparent drug overdose.

A police report from the 2012 incident added that during her interview with the Sheriff’s Office, Ginger Carter appeared to be under the influence of an unknown drug. The report stated that she had slurred speech, pinpoint pupils and glassy eyes, and that she kept falling asleep. At the time, Carter told police that she took five or six pills for her depression, possibly Xanax. As the interview continued, police said she progressively got worse and officers feared she too was overdosing on medication. She was taken to Westfield Memorial Hospital to be treated after police reported that she told them she was only supposed to take four pills, but took extra due to Carter Ashton’s death.

Ginger Carter was arraigned in Chautauqua Town Court on Friday morning for Thursday evening’s incident on charges of failure to signal a turn, felony DWAI-drugs, aggravated unlicensed operation and operating without an ignition interlock device.

She was released on her own recognizance and will appear in Chautauqua Town Court on Sept. 19.

Erie, Pa. man faces weapon charge

RIPLEY – An Erie, Pa. man is being held in Chautauqua County Jail after allegedly crossing the state border with an illegal weapon.

State Police pulled over an eastbound vehicle on Interstate 90 after learning that Isaac G. Nolan, 36, was driving with a suspended license. Further investigation led to the discovery of an illegal black jack, a baton-type weapon.

Nolan was taken to the State Police’s Dunkirk barracks at the Thruway and while there, troopers learned of a previous felony conviction which raised the new weapon charge to a felony. He was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation.

Nolan was arraigned in Ripley Town Court and remanded to Chautauqua County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash or $10,000 property bail. He is due back in court Monday at 7 p.m.