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Pasco Sheriff's Spokesman On Unpaid Leave Following Domestic Battery Charge

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By David Sommer / The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - A Pasco Sheriff's Office spokesman facing a domestic battery charge in Hernando County will no longer be paid while he fights for exoneration.

Sheriff Bob White removed Public Information Director Kevin Doll from the agency's payroll as of Friday, Doll's assistant confirmed Saturday.

Kevin Doll

"I think the sheriff hoped he could get it done in 30 days," office spokesman Doug Tobin said of White's initial decision to place Doll on paid leave in early December.

Reached on his office-issued cell phone Saturday, Doll said he was informed by a supervisor about two weeks ago that the sheriff had decided to put him on unpaid leave after 30 days had elapsed.

Doll said he "absolutely" intends to fight the misdemeanor charge in Hernando County Court. His arraignment, at which he is required to enter either a guilty or not guilty plea, is scheduled for Tuesday. Doll has the option of entering a written plea through a lawyer.

According to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office report, deputies began investigating allegations against Doll two days after an Oct. 7 incident in which his stepdaughter said Doll pushed her mother to the ground, threw a laundry basket and shoved the girl up against a wall.

Doll's ex-wife, Zulma, initially denied any fracas took place, but said her daughter would have been truthful when reporting the incident to a high school resource officer, the report states.

The estranged couple's 5-year-old son corroborated his sister's story, saying he saw his mother hit his father before his father pushed his mother, the report states. The boy also said he had to duck to avoid the flying laundry basket and witnessed Doll shove his sister against a wall.

Zulma Doll has declined to comment on the case. Kevin Doll, 45, was charged with domestic abuse in lieu of a child abuse charge, the Hernando Sheriff's Office report states.

The couple divorced last year but continued to share their Spring Hill home while it remained up for sale.

Doll has worked as a Pasco Sheriff's Office spokesman for about 10 years. He became information director in 2003 after the death of his predecessor, Jon Powers.

Reporter David Sommer can be reached at (727) 815-1087 or dsommer@tampatrib.com.

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