MDOT exec pleads not guilty to public intoxication

BILOXI — The Sun Herald reports Mississippi Department of Transportation Director Larry L. Brown has pleaded not guilty to a public intoxication charge and is set to stand trial Nov. 18.

The charge stems from Brown’s arrest in July at Beau Rivage casino.

Biloxi police records say Brown was “intoxicated and unconscious” at a slot machine. Brown has maintained his innocence in the case.

The 67-year-old Brown told The Associated Press in July that he’d had wine with dinner and “a couple of whatever they serve” as drinks in the casino. He said the incident was “embarrassing.”

Brown is the appointed director of MDOT, which oversees highway and road construction for the state and has an annual state and federally funded budget of nearly $2 billion.