Former Collier deputy arrested, accused of 'doctor shopping' for pills

A former Collier County sheriff’s deputy fired last year for allegedly abusing prescription drugs while on duty was arrested this week and accused of “doctor shopping” to obtain pills.

Kevin Dobies, 38, was arrested on a warrant Monday and faces four felony counts of withholding information from a medical practitioner.

An arrest warrant states that four times between Dec. 15, 2015, and Feb. 2, 2016, Dobies withheld information from a medical practitioner to try to obtain prescription drugs — a practice known as “doctor shopping.”

The criminal investigation into Dobies began after he showed up to work Feb. 10, 2016, under the influence of drugs, according to a Sheriff’s Office internal affairs investigation.

During a shift briefing that morning, Dobies fell asleep, slurred his speech and appeared to be disheveled and tired, according to the investigation. Other deputies said Dobies seemed to be impaired.

A colleague drove Dobies home that morning, but he later was brought back to work for an evaluation by a drug recognition expert. A series of tests showed Dobies was impaired, likely by a central nervous system depressant, according to Sheriff’s Office reports.

Video from Dobies’ in-car video camera showed that on his drive to work that morning, he struggled to maintain his lane and had slowed reaction to red lights.

In the months before the investigation, Dobies’ supervisors had noted a pattern of misuse of sick time and paid time off. At one point he was counseled for providing a false reason for leaving work.

Dobies’ colleagues told internal affairs investigators they had observed similar instances of Dobies appearing “slow, sluggish and sickly,” according to internal affairs reports.

Dobies told a supervisor in April 2015 that he was taking a new prescription medication and that he and his doctor were working to get the dosage correct. That day he failed field sobriety tests and was driven home from work by a colleague.  

Dobies told investigators he was prescribed several different medications. The night before he was to report for duty Feb. 10, 2016, he took one pill before going to bed, he told investigators.

Dobies denied abusing or misusing any of his prescription medications.

Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk fired Dobies on Sept. 28, 2016. The reasons Rambosk cited for the firing were reporting to duty under the influence and immoral, unlawful or improper conduct.

Dobies is scheduled to be arraigned in Collier County Court on June 19.