Man accused of renting La Quinta motel room, illegally playing dentist there

(As originally published with bells and whistles, Wed, April 19th 2023, 1:52 PM EDT)

DANBURY, Conn. (TND) — Police in Connecticut got an unusual call over the weekend and ended up arresting a motel guest.

That guest wasn’t there vacationing. He’s accused of renting a room and using it to work as a dentist.

The problem was he’s not a dentist and the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Danbury is not a place to practice.

Police said they arrived at his room on Sunday and Hugo Moraes-DeLima, 41,

claimed he was conducting dental referrals.

Then, they went inside and

found an impromptu operating set-up with dental drills, suction machines, and a portable X-ray machine. Officers also located numerous bottles of amoxicillin and other medications.

But they weren’t alone.

There was a man — an apparent patient — in the bathroom.

Hugo Moraes-DeLima is charged with practicing dentistry without a license and illegal sale of prescription drugs in a Connecticut motel room, April 16, 2023. (Danbury Police Dept.)

Police said he walked out with “gauze in his mouth, stating he had just had a dental procedure.”

Moraes-DeLima, of Florida, was charged with practicing dentistry without a license and illegal sale of prescription drugs.

He’s being held on a $350,000 bond.

Court documents in Palm Beach County show somebody with his last name going through eviction twice from an apartment unit with the Boca Raton address Moraes-DeLima gave police.

The owner eventually withdrew the case from Nov. 15, 2021. Another started this past January is ongoing.

Back in Connecticut, rooms at the motel are not cheap.

The least expensive The National Desk could find for Wednesday night was $155.

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