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DIY Dentistry: Truck Driver, Assistant Severely Injure Dental ‘Patient,’ Dumont Police Charge

A dental assistant and an Ecuadorian national who drives a truck for a living were charged with aggravated assault by Dumont police for severely injuring a woman with do-it-yourself at-home dentistry, authorities said.

David Pharaoh Crosby Jupiter

David Pharaoh Crosby Jupiter

Photo Credit: BCJ

David Pharaoh Crosby Jupiter, the 44-year-old self-employed trucker, was arrested last Friday, Sept. 23, and sent to the Bergen County Jail only to have a judge release him the next day, records show.

Dental assistant Diego Rodriguez, 32, had already been arrested two weeks ago before being released from headquarters on a summons, Dumont Police Chief Brian Joyce said Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Both men are charged with aggravated assault, unlawfully practicing dentistry, conspiracy and tampering with evidence,

The victim went to the pair on July 23 when she couldn’t afford a root canal, a responder with direct knowledge of the case said. She was treated in the basement of a home, the source said.

“Halfway through, she couldn’t take the pain anymore and left,” he said. “She went to her boyfriend’s house and he called 911.”

The woman was taken to Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, he said.

Authorities also took notice.

“Good police work by officers on scene and a thorough investigation by detectives” determined that Rodriguez and Crosby Jupiter “participated in the unlawful practice of dentistry and, as a result, caused significant bodily injury to the victim,” Joyce said.

The chief thanked the New Jersey Attorney General's Office’s Consumer Affairs Division and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Financial Crimes Unit for their significant assistance in the investigation.

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