Kentucky lawmaker pleads not guilty to DUI, reckless driving charges

An attorney on behalf of State Rep. Beverly Chester-Burton pleaded not guilty to her charges of reckless driving and driving under the influence at her arraignment in Jefferson County District Court early Friday.

Shively Police arrested Chester-Burton around 1 a.m. Tuesday on the 1800 block of Garrs Lane after she was reportedly seen driving into oncoming lanes and "sat there for a minute forcing an oncoming vehicle to pass around her," according to her arrest warrant. She then pulled into the correct lane but parked in the middle of the road, investigators say.

After officers approached her, they wrote there was a "strong odor of an alcoholic beverage." Chester-Burton's speech was also described as slurred and rapid, according to the citation.

The Democratic lawmaker, whose district encompasses Shively as well as other parts of Jefferson County, reportedly told officers she had been returning from Frankfort. Investigators also alleged Chester-Burton requested her phone "to call the chief" and attempted to get back into her vehicle multiple times at the scene.

Sgt. Jordan Brown of Shively Police said Chester-Burton did not speak with the department's chief before, during or after the arrest.

The arrest citation stated Chester-Burton refused to complete field sobriety tests, telling officers she would "beat it like she did the last one." She also refused to say how much she had been drinking.

During her tenure as mayor of Shively, Chester-Burton pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence after she crashed a vehicle in a White Castle parking lot in December 2020.

Earlier this week, Kentucky Democratic Party Executive Director Morgan Eaves commented on Chester-Burton's arrest as well as allegations of misconduct by another lawmaker, Kentucky Rep. Daniel Grossberg .

"We are always concerned when either a candidate or an elected official appears to skirt some of (our party's) tenants, but we also respect the due process of those, and when you have investigations involved, I think we need to see those through while having serious conversations amongst ourselves about what that means for the party and what that means for individuals affected," Eaves said at a Wednesday press conference .

Chester-Burton's next court date is a pretrial conference on Nov. 13.

Reach reporter Rachel Smith at rksmith@courierjournal.com or @RachelSmithNews on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky lawmaker pleads not guilty to DUI, reckless driving charges