Things you can’t do at home: practice dentistry, operate a bar

An illegal cantina in a home in Westlawn. [ABC photo]

Fairfax County Police are investigating a tip about woman practicing dentistry without a license in an apartment in the 4700 block of Commons Drive, Annandale.

According to a report by News4, there have been several complaints about a woman identified only as “Angela” conducting dental procedures, including anesthesia treatments, in her apartment since 2011. It says a search by police netted “boxes filled with dental equipment, including molds, bibs, dental impressions, and even teeth.”

MPO Eddy Azcarate, a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Police Department, said “we are investigating possible unlicensed dentistry” in response to a tip received Oct. 23 and “charges are pending.” The apartment is close to Braddock Elementary School between Heritage Drive and Americana Drive.

In a related story, special agents with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) busted a 44-year old woman for operating an illegal cantina in her home in the 7000 block of Westmoreland Road in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County. That’s in the Westlawn neighborhood.

Ruth Guadalupe Zurita was accused of illegally selling beer and food out of her private residence, the ABC announced Nov. 18. Agents with the Alexandria Regional Office of the ABC were assisted in the six-month investigation by the Fairfax County Police Department, Fairfax County Department of Code Compliance, and Fairfax County Health Department.

“During the investigation, which was sparked by a tip from an unidentified source, undercover agents visited the residence and purchased food, soda, and alcoholic beverages,” an ABC news release states.

The living room was furnished with “two banquet-style folding tables set up to accommodate the large volume of patrons who allegedly visited the venue weekly. Additional seating and a temporary kitchen were also found in operation on the home’s back deck,” the ABC states. When the search warrant was executed Nov. 17, 12 patrons were conducting business inside the house.

Zurita has been charged with two counts of selling alcoholic beverages without a license and one count of maintaining, aiding, abetting, or knowingly associating with others in maintaining a common nuisance.

Both charges are Class 1 misdemeanors. If convicted, Zurita faces up to 12 months in jail, or a fine of $2,500, or both. She was released on a $3,000 secured bond.