LCSO deputy arrested, charged with battery and fired following domestic violence allegation

Lee County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested one of their own Friday night after a phone call came through accusing the deputy of domestic violence.

"I stand before you as your sheriff disappointed to announce that my team has arrested Lee County deputy Christopher Doughty," Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.

Doughty was taken into custody after deputies responded to his home for a domestic disturbance, Marceno said. The call came through around midnight.

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Following an investigation, deputies determined there was sufficient probable cause to arrest Doughty, Marceno said.

Doughty is charged with one count of battery.

Doughty was terminated from the agency Saturday morning.

"We immediately begin conferencing with the executive command staff ... We review all the facts and circumstances," Marceno. "Once there's probable cause for that arrest, we see what exactly took place."

Doughty was assigned to the youth services division and worked as a school resource deputy at Palm Acres Charter High School in Lehigh Acres.

He became a deputy in 2007 and has been with the youth services division since 2009, Marceno said.

"Nobody is above the law, and in an effort to be transparent to the community, I wanted to come to you with the details of this incident as quickly as I could," Marceno said. 

Marceno promised to hold deputies accountable moving forward, and added that they look into deputies' backgrounds regardless of their status. 

Citing Marsy's law, Marceno said he couldn't specify who the victim was.

Doughty had been disciplined previously for leaving school early, as well as issues related to texting while working, Marceno said. 

"Just very, very minor issues," Marceno said. "Nothing notable that would make us believe we're looking at what we have here."

Marceno said that while Doughty was terminated in this case, they evaluate complaints against deputies on a case-by-case basis.

"When we talk about battery, domestic violence, we're not going to tolerate any domestic violence of any sort," Marceno said. "We are held to a higher standard."

Marceno said the investigation remains open. He added the case was forwarded to the State Attorney's Office.

"All that will become public as time goes on," Marceno said.

Jail records for Doughty weren't available Saturday.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Follow him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.