Former Hillsborough deputy arrested on DUI charge

BRANDON -- A former Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy on bail awaiting trial in a drug case was arrested early this morning on a charge of driving under the influence.

Stuart Wesley Bell, 34, already faces charges of fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs. Hillsborough deputies arrested Bell at 4 a.m. at Leonard Drive and Wood Road. Bell, whose blood-alcohol level measured .10, was taken to the Orient Road Jail, where he was released after posting a $500 bail.

Under Florida law a driver is presumed impaired if his blood-alcohol level is .08 or more.

Bell was the subject of an internal sheriff's investigation in January after being accused of taking about $100 worth of the prescription drug oxycodone from a suspect's house while serving as a backup to another deputy. He was charged with petty theft, tampering with physical evidence, and obtaining a controlled substance from multiple physicians, or "doctor shopping."

County records show that Bell is scheduled to appear in Circuit Court May 8 on the doctor-shopping charges.

Andrew Meacham, Times staff writer