Indiana doctor pleads guilty to firing BB pistol at driver on Interstate 75 south of Lexington

RICHMOND — An Indiana doctor accused of pointing and shooting a BB gun last year at another driver on Interstate 75 pleaded guilty Monday to wanton endangerment.

Dr. Perrin Dobyns, 51, of Corydon, Ind., entered the plea in Madison Circuit Court. Under a plea agreement, Dobyns will be supervised for three years by probation and parole officials, but he could face three years in prison if he violates the terms of the plea or any other conditions set by probation and parole.

First-degree wanton endangerment in Kentucky carries a penalty of one to five years in prison.

Dobyns and his lawyer, Jim Lowry of Lexington, declined to comment as they left the courthouse.

Madison Circuit Judge Jean Chenault Logue scheduled sentencing for Oct. 2.

The other driver, David Kollar, told state police he saw a driver operating recklessly on I-75 on Sept. 29 in Madison County.

Kollar took out his smartphone and recorded video, which captured Dobyns pointing a pistol in his direction while the cars continued side by side on the interstate.

No one was hurt in the confrontation, but Dobyns was arrested at the prison where he works in Branchville, Ind.

In November, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana suspended his medical license for 90 days.

Then, in March, the board put Dobyns' license on indefinite suspension, and he was ordered to pay a $500 fine.

In its findings of fact, the board said Dobyns was "unfit to practice due to professional incompetence as he continues to engage in a pattern of conduct which demonstrates an inability to exercise reasonable care and diligence as is normally exercised by practitioners in the same or similar circumstances."

The board found that Dobyns "has a history of substance abuse dating back to 2001 while practicing in Oklahoma." Dobyns moved his practice to Indiana in 2002 "while he continued to abuse alcohol and prescription drugs," the board found.

He enrolled in an inpatient treatment program in Chicago for 10 weeks.

In 2007, he moved to North Carolina but relapsed in 2008, and his license there was suspended indefinitely.

In November 2009, his Indiana medical license was renewed, but he was placed on "indefinite probation."

In August 2010, Dobyns met with a Drug Enforcement Administration investigator concerning an application for a DEA registration, but that was denied. (Physicians must be registered with the DEA before they may prescribe controlled substances.) An administrative law judge later recommended that Dobyns be granted a DEA registration subject to certain conditions.

In March 2012, the probationary status of Dobyns' Indiana medical license was removed, although he agreed to follow the terms of his contract with a physician assistance program. The program of the Indiana State Medical Association addresses the needs of physicians impaired by chemical dependence, psychiatric disorders and physician disability.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Dobyns must have no other violations of the law, must resolve his current license suspension or actively pursue other employment, and he must submit to random drug testing.

This story was originally published August 25, 2014 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Indiana doctor pleads guilty to firing BB pistol at driver on Interstate 75 south of Lexington."