Beckett plea: not guilty

Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett has pleaded not guilty to a drunken driving charge stemming from two crashes he was involved in during a six-hour span on the same California highway.

Beckett entered the plea Tuesday morning in Superior Court in Barstow, Calif.

He could not be reached for comment after his arraignment, but last week he described the court appearance as "an initial step" that promised "nothing earth-shattering or nothing final, that's for sure."

Beckett previously issued a public statement in which he took "full responsibility" for the bizarre events of June 15.

The first crash that day on California Route 127 destroyed Beckett's county-issued sport utility vehicle. The second, in his own van, resulted in the drunken driving citation from the California Highway Patrol.

In the wake of that disastrous Father's Day, Beckett lost a bid for district judge, finishing a distant third out of three candidates in the Aug. 12 primary election.

Nye County's chief prosecutor is scheduled for an Oct. 3 pretrial hearing in Barstow.

According to court records, he is being represented by attorney Don Chairez, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Nevada Supreme Court earlier this year and lost a bid for Nevada Attorney General in 2006.

A message left for Chairez was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Beckett is midway through his fourth term as district attorney, a position he has held since January 1995.

He draws a base salary of $105,616, plus $21,123 a year in longevity pay.