POLICE INVESTIGATE BEACH DENTIST ON DRUGS IN HOUSE SAFE

By Mike Mather

VIRGINIA BEACH Narcotics detectives are investigating a dentist
suspected of distributing cocaine and marijuana from his home, according to
a searchwarrant affidavit made public Tuesday.

Police searched a safe taken from the dentist's guest bedroom and found
cocaine, marijuana, and numerous items commonly used to package and sell
drugs, the search warrant affidavit said.

The dentist, J. Matthew Hogendobler, told police the safe wasn't his. He
said the safe belonged to a Washington ``drag queen'' who held the key, the
affidavit said.

Police first contacted Hogendobler at his home in the 2200 block of North
Lakeside Drive on Nov. 12 after receiving ``a report that cocaine
distribution was possibly taking place'' there, according to the affidavit.
The document did not identify the source of that allegation.

The affidavit said that when detectives confronted Hogendobler at his
house, the dentist led them to the safe concealed in a dresser drawer and
told them it contained zdrugs.

According to the records, Hogendobler told investigators the safe had
recently been refilled with cocaine and marijuana in Washington.

Police spokesman Lou Thurston said on Tuesday that Hogendobler hadn't been
charged with a crime. Contacted at his office on Wildwood Drive on Tuesday,
Hogendobler would not comment on the case.

Thurston did not know why detectives declined to charge the dentist with
drug possession. Supervisors from the Police Department's Special
Investigative Division, which handles drug cases, were not available to
discuss the case Tuesday.

Authorities said an immediate arrest isn't required in such cases. They
said Hogendobler could be indicted in the future, police could charge him
with a less serious crime later, or not charge him at all, if they seek his
cooperation to arrest the person who supplied the drugs.

Possession of cocaine, even if the drug does not belong to the person who
has it, is a felony. Possession of marijuana is a felony or misdemeanor,
depending on the amount of drugs involved.