ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. – A bariatric surgeon affiliated with Flagler Hospital was arrested by St. Augustine Beach police investigating a woman's complaint that a man was looking into her window late Saturday night.
According to the offense report, a 23-year-old tourist from North Carolina staying at a home in Sea Colony reported seeing a man wearing a blue shirt and khaki shorts peeping into her window about 11:30 p.m. She told police that when he was spotted, the man ran, jumped a wall and went through some bushes.
Officers investigating the complaint stopped a man matching that description walking in the development. The man identified himself as Stuart Koppman and was "taking a walk around the neighborhood" to smoke because his wife doesn't allow him to smoke in their house.
According to the report, the woman who filed the complaint identified Koppman as the man she saw at her window. Investigating officers also reported finding that bulbs had been removed from two motion-sensing lights of the victim's home.
John Stuart Koppman, 41, was arrested and charged with a second-degree misdemeanor loitering and prowling and booked into the St. Johns County jail. He was released the next day on $500 bond.
According to Flagler Hosptial's website, Koppman has been affiliated the hospital since 2007. After his arrest, he was fired by his employer, U.S. Bariatric.
"I was shocked at the allegations," said Dr. Robert Marema, Koppman's former associate.
Marema said Koppman was a great surgeon who never had any problems at work.
"Dr. Koppman has been very well-received by both staff and patients, and he's never had any issues that have been called into question," Marema said.
Koppman denied having any involvement in the allegations against him. Marema is hoping for a good outcome in the case.
"I just wish him and his family the best and hope everything is clarified in time," he said.