Attorney: Gruesome murder caused trauma in former deputy

Former Collier County sheriff’s Lt. Scott Anderson’s problems peaked after he entered a walk-in cooler and saw the bodies of three people who had been brutally murdered, his attorney said Wednesday.

Anderson, 41, is more than just a rogue former cop who’s having a great time getting high, getting into car crashes and getting arrested, Naples attorney Donald Day said.

Anderson was fired by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office after his third arrest in March. He had served about 21 years on the force.

He was arrested again Friday after crashing into an off-duty deputy while he was under the influence of prescription drugs, Florida Highway Patrol investigators said. The arrest came just two days after he was convicted in Collier County Court of driving under the influence during a rear-end crash in his patrol truck while he was on duty.

Day said Anderson, who is held in Collier County on no bond, has a pain-pill addiction stemming from a severe back injury.

And he has a mental illness caused by trauma, Day said. Anderson, who spent more than a decade as East Naples substation commander, was one of the first responding deputies to the Cracker Barrel triple-murder scene. Three former co-workers of the murderer, Brandy Jennings, had been knifed to death inside the restaurant’s walk-in cooler.

“According to (the psychiatrist’s) report, it messed him up. It had a real impact on him. That was a really nasty scene. Supposedly the blood was ankle-deep, and the bodies were really messed up,” Day said.

Anderson never really got the help or support he needed for that and other traumatic calls, Day said, although the attorney did say Anderson has received some counseling.

“The guy was a law enforcement officer for 25 years, and he worked some things that will stay with him for the rest of his life,” Day said.

Anderson has emotional and psychological problems, and he has a drug addiction, Day said. A minor back injury suffered early in the former deputy’s career, or before it, became much more painful and chronic because he wore a deputy’s utility belt for years.

The belt is heavy, containing the deputy’s gun and holster, metal handcuffs and other tools of the law enforcement trade. The weight caused him problems with his spine. He took prescription pills for the pain.

It was pills that impaired Anderson’s ability to drive Friday, and it was pills that caused him to rear-end a motorist Feb. 15 while he was in his patrol truck in East Naples.

He was convicted of DUI and sentenced to time served in jail. His license was suspended for a year, and he was placed on a year of probation by Judge Vince Murphy.

Then Friday he crashed into an off-duty deputy in her personal vehicle. A passenger in the deputy’s car was sent to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries, according to the arrest report. Anderson again was charged with DUI, driving with a suspended license and violation of probation.

In his other cases, he faces three felony charges alleging he illegally obtained prescription drugs from multiple physicians.

And he’s charged with fleeing law enforcement, a felony, and reckless driving, a misdemeanor, after refusing to stop when a deputy tried to pull him over for weaving and speeding on Golden Gate Boulevard. He led deputies on a chase of up to 95 mph, according to the arrest report.

Each misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail. Each felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.

His wife, Roxanne, also 41, was charged with DUI when she was arrested Feb. 15, the same day as her husband. She’s charged with DUI also, and with having a blank prescription drug slip in her vehicle.

She was scheduled for trial Wednesday. Her case was continued because she had “some kind of emotional breakdown” the day before, Day said. Her doctor wouldn’t clear her to endure the hardship of a trial.

“She’s had some serious health problems for a while,” said Day, who’s also representing Roxanne Anderson. “She’s been under a lot of stress.”

Prosecutor Neil Snyder and Day agreed to postpone the case. It was put on a June 20 docket for a status check, with the possibility the two sides could hammer out a plea agreement addressing both cases.

“Hopefully we can get her well again and make some progress on these,” Judge Murphy, who’s presiding over the case, told the prosecutor and defense attorney in his chambers.

The Sheriff’s Office does have an interest in helping its personnel who undergo stressful encounters on the job, said Kristen Adams, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Sheriff Don Hunter requires employees to attend the Critical Incident Stress Management panel after certain calls that are particularly stressful. Adams, who’s on the panel, said it’s not counseling but a meeting with other members of the agency, as well as of other agencies, plus mental health professionals.

“We can talk to them about it. We’ve been through training. And we can refer them other places for more help,” Adams said.

The sheriff understands the stresses of the job, Adams said, and hopes talking with others who have undergone similar things will help his deputies.

“It can be a very challenging job. We try to be there for people. I’m not saying that former Lt. Anderson was one of them, because I don’t know that he is, but some people are very good at hiding things, hiding how they feel. It’s very unfortunate because we would have liked to have helped him,” Adams said.