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Pasco Sheriff's Spokesman Charged In Family Dispute

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 11, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - For nearly a decade Kevin Doll has been speaking on behalf of Pasco County sheriffs. But he was silenced - perhaps only temporarily - as an agency spokesman when he was ordered to appear in court in a domestic battery case.

Hernando County prosecutors last month filed a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against Doll, 45, and recently issued the notice to appear. His arraignment is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 8 before County Judge Kurt Hitzemann.

According to Hernando County Sheriff's Office reports, Doll and his ex-wife, Zulma, were arguing over someone leaving a bottle of brake cleaner atop the washing machine on Oct. 7.

Two days later, Doll's stepdaughter reported the incident to her school resource officer, alleging the argument became violent toward her, her younger brother and her mother.

The teenager told the officer that Doll threw a laundry basket, which missed her but hit her 5-year-old brother, and then forced her mother to the floor, according to a report. The girl said she tried to break up the altercation and cursed at him.

That further agitated Doll and he reportedly grabbed her and shoved her against a wall.

"If you touch my kids again I will cut your heart out," the teen said she overheard her mother warn Doll.

In a statement provided to deputies, the teen, who is in high school, wrote that she didn't see Doll strike her mother but that her mother was crying and said she had been hit, a report said.

When a deputy went to the Dolls' Spring Hill home, 283 Minerva Place, Zulma Doll "was very insistent that there was no physical confrontation" between her and Doll, according to a report. She also told deputies she didn't see Doll push her daughter.

But when Zulma Doll was shown the written statement, she said her daughter wouldn't lie and would not elaborate, the report states.

Later, the deputy returned with a child protection investigator and they interviewed the family.

The couple's son referred to "the fight," saying his mother hit his father and then his father pushed his mother, according to the report.

The boy said he saw his father throw the laundry basket and he had to duck to avoid being hit; he also saw his dad push his sister against the wall, the report states.

Zulma Doll declined to comment Monday evening.

The domestic battery charge against Kevin Doll was filed instead of a child abuse charge, a report says.

The Dolls separated last December and divorced in June. They still live together because the house has been on the market since January and hasn't sold.

Doll said he shares custody of his son and stays at the family home to be close to the child.

He and his stepdaughter haven't spoken since the incident in October, Doll said.

He concedes that he got upset over the brake cleaner being left out because they're trying to sell the house and that he threw the laundry basket. But he denies hurting anyone.

He and his ex-wife argue a lot, he reportedly told deputies, because it's a stressful situation. But, Doll said, he hasn't been physically abusive to anyone.

"There's more to it than this," he said Monday, "but I don't want to talk about it now."

He and his former wife are trying to go about their business amicably and sell their house so they can go their separate ways, Doll said.

Meanwhile, he had to turn in his Pasco sheriff's office-issued car and will continue working on projects from home.

He became public information director after longtime spokesman Jon Powers died in November 2003.

Doll is meeting with a lawyer this week and hopes to put the criminal charge behind him.

"I want to get back to work as soon as possible," he said.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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