VENTURA : Dentist Arrested on Drug Charges

A dentist with offices in Ventura and Oxnard was arrested on charges of possessing and being under the influence of drugs, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said.

“I made a grievous error Friday,” said the dentist, Bruce A. Pence Jr. In an interview Monday, Pence said he wasn’t under the influence of drugs at the time of his arrest.

He said he was already in drug treatment with a psychiatrist when he was arrested Friday at his Pacific Coast Highway home in the Rincon area, and that he had been planning next week to attend a 30-day residential drug treatment program in Minnesota.

Sgt. Fred Bustillo of the Ventura County Jail said Pence was booked Friday on suspicion of possessing and being under the influence of drugs, and was released Saturday after posting bail, Bustillo said.