RicardoValdespino.jpg

Ricardo Valdespino, 52, appears in court in Jersey City today, May 9, 2016, on charges he practiced dentistry without a license in a vacant Union City building.

JERSEY CITY -- A 52-year-old Union City man was arrested Friday and charged with practicing dentistry without a license inside a vacant building.

Ricardo Valdespino, of the 1200 block of Summit Avenue, allegedly committed the unlawful practice of dentistry by performing "denture related procedures on (name omitted) in an abandoned structure in Union City," the criminal complaint says.

He allegedly also possessed "11 doses of lidocaine used for oral injections, while in the unlawful performance of dentistry," the complaint says.

Finally, Valdespino is charged with having "five hypodermic syringes with the intent to use them" to administer the drug, the complaint says.

Valdespino has three prior arrests and one disorderly persons conviction, an official said when he made his first appearance on the new charges this afternoon in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

There are warrants for his arrest out of Union City Municipal Court for trespassing and an ordinance violation, a court official said.

Valdespino's bail was set at $20,000 with a 10 percent cash option by CJP Judge Margaret Marley.