The Scottsdale plastic surgeon accused of breaking into a neighboring surgical business and stealing vials of medicinal cocaine is back at work.
Dr. Paul Holden sent an e-mail addressed to "friends and patients" to announce that he's now working at North Valley Plastic Surgery in North Phoenix, near Desert Ridge.
See also:
-Scottsdale Plastic Surgeon Paul Holden Accused of Stealing "Medicinal Cocaine"
In July, the Arizona Medical Board made effective a temporary order that prohibited Holden from practicing medicine in Arizona.
The board's order cited "no finding of unprofessional conduct" against Holden but rather attributed the suspension to a "medical condition."
That order is now nowhere to be found on the board's website, and Holden's profile on the website lists no board action against him.
County court records show the burglary charge against Holden still stands.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, Holden was identified from video surveillance footage and by a cleaning woman he allegedly ran into while he lifted the vials of cocaine from a neighboring surgical outlet. Employees said Holden used to be allowed to perform surgeries in their facility, but "his access was withdrawn after an incident in 2012," according to court documents. There was no further information on that incident.
Holden invoked his right to an attorney after his arrest, but court documents reference another run-in with Holden, in which police were investigating a possible domestic-violence incident between him and his wife in May 2012. According to the documents, Holden "fled the residence in his vehicle, making suicidal statements and holding a loaded handgun up to his head, threatening to kill himself."
Holden barricaded himself in his plastic-surgery business, and the building had to be evacuated until was arrested. Those charges were dismissed after he agreed to complete a diversion program.
In the cocaine-theft case, a grand jury indicted Holden on one felony count of burglary. At this point, the case is scheduled to go to trial early this year.
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