LCSO commander arrested on DUI charge in Collier County

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
LCSO Cmdr. Mark Shelly (Credit: LCSO)

A Lee County Sheriff’s Office commander was arrested Monday in Collier County on a DUI charge.

Cmdr. Mark Shelly, 42, who has been with the agency since 2001, is on paid administrative leave, the sheriff’s office says.

He was arrested shortly after midnight in the area of Vanderbilt Drive and 100th Avenue North. According to the CCSO arrest report, a deputy saw Shelly make an illegal U-turn on Tamiami Trail North at Strada Place. As the deputy caught up to Shelly, who turned onto Vanderbilt Beach Road, he watched as Shelly’s vehicle weaved across lanes and ran off the road, then came to an abrupt stop at a stop sign “as if the driver noticed the stop sign at the last second.”

The deputy pulled Shelly over at the intersection, and as he was walking to Shelly’s vehicle, he saw Shelly put a piece of gum in his mouth seconds before contact was made. Shelly had “red glassy eyes and a flushed face,” the report states, and he fumbled with and dropped his license, and was never able to produce his registration and insurance. His speech was slurred as he told the deputy he wasn’t familiar with the area and that’s why he made an illegal U-turn, according to the report. The deputy states in the report that he couldn’t smell any odors coming from Shelly because of the gum. When asked why he was weaving on the road, he said he was texting his wife and trying to find his friend’s house. Shelly said he had just left Mercado and denied having any alcohol, but he claimed he sustained a head injury on Saturday while doing yard work and had a small bandage on his forehead. He refused medical attention.

The deputy asked Shelly to perform field sobriety exercises, and as the deputy was explaining them, Shelly began making phone calls and refused to participate. He finally agreed after his arms were placed behind his back for arrest. The exercises led the deputy to believe Shelly had been driving under the influence of alcohol and he was placed under arrest. He refused to submit to a breath test.

Shelly has since been released from the Collier County Jail.

A booking photo of Shelly will not be available because he is protected under Florida Statute 119.071.

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