XENIA — A Fairborn dentist pleaded guilty Friday to possession of cocaine during a hearing in Greene County Common Pleas Court.

Lowell B. Heck, 56, of Fairborn, remained free on $2,500 bond posted after he was stopped by police in Fairborn in March 2007, according to court records.

Heck — already convicted in Fairborn Municipal Court of drunken driving in the March 9, 2007, incident — pleaded guilty to the felony drug charge in a hearing Friday before Judge Timothy Campbell.

Prosecutors dismissed a possession of criminal tools charge. Campbell set sentencing for March 18.

Heck's record in Fairborn and Greene County also indicates five speeding violations since 1996, but no other drunk-driving or drug charges.

Heck was stopped about 11:45 p.m., March 9, after a Fairborn officer clocked his vehicle at 45 mph on South Maple Avenue in a neighborhood posted with a 25 mph speed limit, according to police reports. Police found a piece of red straw and a small amount of cocaine inside a folded $1 bill in a box of cigarettes in his vehicle.

He was arrested and charged with drunk driving and possession of cocaine.

In August 2007, Fairborn Municipal Judge Beth Root sentenced Heck for drunk-driving to three days in Northstar, a substance abuse treatment center in Dayton. Heck was also fined $550 and limited to driving to work for six months by the August 2007 sentencing, according to court records.

A grand jury indicted Heck on the drug charges in August.

A dentist since 1975, Heck remains licensed to practice, according to the Ohio State Dental Board.

Neither Heck nor his lawyer could be reached.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com.