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Deputy Resigns In Probe

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

vkalfrin@tampatrib.com

Published: November 5, 2008

TAMPA - A 12-year veteran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has resigned after a departmental investigation found he took prescription drugs from a woman during an unrecorded traffic stop.

Cpl. William Hughes, 35, resigned Oct. 14, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. He had been found guilty of the following policy violations: using prescribed drugs while on duty, conduct unbecoming a member of the sheriff's office, committing misdemeanor petty theft and failing to follow department directives.

The sheriff's office released the findings of the department's internal investigation Tuesday. Carter said it does not appear Hughes will face criminal charges.

According to the findings, Hughes took prescription pills from a woman's purse during a traffic stop July 23, when he was off duty but in uniform and driving an unmarked white Chevrolet Impala.

Hughes had pulled over the woman for violation of the right of way, stopping her at a Mitsubishi dealership west of Falkenburg Road, the findings say.

He searched the woman's car with her permission, found her purse and the medication.

When the woman later counted the pills, she found the number was short, the findings say.

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