Gautier Mayor Casey Vaughn is facing misdemeanor charges after the wife of Ward 4 Councilman Rusty Anderson signed criminal charges against him.
Anderson’s wife, Linda Anderson, is accusing Vaughn of drunken and disorderly behavior that breached her peace during a Sept. 6 concert featuring Sam Hunt at The Sound amphitheater. She signed charges against Vaughn for disturbing the peace, public drunk and disorderly conduct.
Each offense carries a maximum sentence of up to $500 in fines and/or six months in the county jail.
According to an incident report, Anderson was sitting at the concert near Vaughn when the pair started arguing. Vaughn ended up “yelling at Linda regarding professional matters” about her expired business license. In addition, the report said.
Linda Anderson claims she held out her hand and told Vaughn “she was no longer going to talk and that he needed to return to sit with his family.”
As Vaughn was walking away, Linda Anderson said Vaughn turned and yelled at her that he was “going to get you.”
Linda Anderson and her husband described Vaughn at the time as being “heavily intoxicated to the point at which he was spitting as he was yelling at Linda.” In addition, Linda Anderson said, the run-in was the second time that Vaughn had allegedly “verbally bullied” the couple during a concert at The Sound.
In a statement released Thursday morning, Vaughn’s attorney, Cameron McCormick said that the mayor is asking for a probable cause hearing before any further legal action in the case.
“We strongly believe these charges are politically motivated, as evidenced by numerous statements made by Councilman Anderson and his wife regarding Mayor Vaughan’s administration,” McCormick said in a release. “We also believe this action serves as an attempt to divert attention from Councilman Anderson’s own issues, particularly the public backlash he faced following a racist post on his social media account last summer. Rather than addressing those concerns, the focus has now shifted to politically charged accusations against Mayor Vaughan.”
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In a prepared statement, Vaughn said, “It’s unfortunate that, instead of working together to continue the progress we’ve made in growing Gautier, we are now forced to address politically motivated accusations. I remain focused on serving the people of Gautier and will continue to work toward our shared goal of making our city a vibrant and welcoming destination.”
The Sun Herald requested a copy of the incident from the city of Gautier on Wednesday, and Police Chief David Bever confirmed the report was there.
Vaughn’s attorney, however, provided the incident report with a statement over an hour before city officials provided the report.
Since the charges were filed, the case has been transferred to Jackson County Justice Court.
