BILOXI – The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the former mayor of Natchez was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Larry “Butch” Brown was arrested at 5:30 a.m., on July 23, at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi.
Investigators said Brown fell asleep at a penny slot machine and then got into an altercation with a casino security guard when asked to leave the property.
Brown argued that he had a hotel room upstairs and refused to leave the property. His arrest followed.
Brown, 67, said he was on the Gulf Coast to make a speech to the Mississippi Economic Development Council. He admitted that he had wine with dinner, and other alcoholic beverages at the casino, but maintains he was not drunk.
“It was a terrible, terrible, terrible misunderstanding,” Brown told the Natchez Democrat. “It’s embarrassing, but it was a simple escalation of a minor problem.”
Brown said the incident began when the security guard kept insisting he leave the casino premises.
“Bottom line, the guy told me I had to leave the property,” Brown told the Natchez Democrat. “When (the security officer) said that, I said, ‘I’m not going to leave the property. I’ll cash out and go to my room.'”
Brown said the security officer told him he could not return to his room at the casino hotel, and warned him he would be arrested if he didn’t follow orders.
“I told them, ‘Well, you better arrest me then. I got a room here, and I’m not going anywhere,'” Brown said.
Brown was taken to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center and his bond was set at $480, which he paid and was released.
“By the time I got back (to the Beau Rivage), management knew what was going on,” Brown said. “And they have been nothing but absolutely great. As far as I’m concerned it’s over. The Beau Rivage has accepted my apology and I’ve accepted theirs, and we’ve put this unfortunate incident behind us.”
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