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Board of Dentistry committee refers five cases involving Dr. Cleophus B. Dark to formal hearing
Summary
At a Feb. 6, 2026 session, the Virginia Board of Dentistry Special Conference Committee "A" moved into closed session under §2.2-3711(A)(27) and unanimously voted to refer five case numbers concerning Dr. Cleophus B. Dark to a formal hearing; scheduling was not specified.
The Virginia Board of Dentistry Special Conference Committee “A” voted on Feb. 6, 2026, to refer five disciplinary matters involving Dr. Cleophus B. Dark, D.D.S., to a formal hearing, the committee’s minutes show.
The committee met at 9:02 a.m. in the Department of Health Professions Perimeter Center in Henrico. Committee Chair Margaret F. Lemaster, R.D.H., and members Bruce R. Hutchison, D.D.S., and Jennifer Szakaly, D.D.S., were present, and the meeting recorded a quorum. Deputy Executive Director Erin T. Weaver, Discipline Case Manager Donna M. Lee and Adjudication Consultant Rebecca Smitth were listed as staff present.
Dr. Cleophus B. Dark appeared without counsel to discuss allegations set out in a Notice of the Board dated June 2, 2025, and the Committee received statements from him, the minutes say.
During the open minutes, Dr. Bruce R. Hutchison moved that the Committee convene a closed meeting “pursuant to § 2.2-3711(A)(27) of the Code of Virginia for the purpose of deliberation to reach a decision in the matter of Cleophus Dark.” The motion, which also asked that Ms. Weaver and Ms. Lee attend the closed session because their presence was deemed necessary to aid deliberations, was seconded and passed.
Dr. Hutchison later moved and the Committee passed a certification that the closed meeting had concerned only matters lawfully exempted from open-meeting requirements and only the matters identified in the motion.
The minutes list the cases under DECISION as Case Nos. 226830; 228066; 229508; 235711; and 246696. Ms. Weaver reported that the Committee unanimously voted to refer the matter to a formal hearing; the minutes do not list a mover or a vote tally for that referral and provide no date for the hearing.
With business concluded, the Committee adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
The minutes identify the action taken and the governing legal citation but do not specify hearing dates or further procedural deadlines.
