Boyfriend attacks dentist because of girlfriend's treatment
By Kurt Eckert, The Hillsboro Argus
April 25, 2010, 4:30AM

A dental drama worthy of Steve Martin and Bill Murray in the movie “Little Shop of Horrors” drew the attention of Hillsboro police to a Tualatin Valley Highway office Monday.


According to reports, 39-year-old Jeffrey Dean Pettijohn was arrested after he physically atttacked a dentist he believed was being too rough with his pregnant girlfriend, who was having a tooth pulled.

Police say Pettijohn became irate when his girlfriend Jennie Arnholz left the appointment just after noon and told him her dentist, Dr. Charles Kersch, was mean to her in pulling her tooth and had a poor chairside manner to boot.

Pettijohn thought this was adding insult to injury, as Arnholz could not be given numbing medication due to her expectant condition.

But police say Pettijohn may have bitten off more than he could chew when he went back into the office 2251 SE Tualatin Valley Highway and gave Kersch a piece of his mind. Witnesses said the verbal confrontation became physical when Pettijohn pushed the dentist a couple of times before both men fell to the floor.

A female dental assistant and a receptionist tried to pull Pettijohn off of Kersch, until Pettijohn just got up on his own and returned to his car.

He sat in the vehicle and waited for police to arrive.

Hillsboro Police Department Lt. Mike Rouches said Pettijohn was cited for harassment, but the case is still under investigation, and more charges are possible.