A jury trial has been scheduled for an area woman who waived her preliminary hearing and who has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.
A formal charge was filed against Taren Lee Formanski, 38, in Lincoln County District Court May 24 for trafficking in illegal drugs (Fentanyl). She appeared before Associate District Judge Sheila Kirk on May 22 and she set her bond at $7,500.
She was arrested by Stroud police responding to a call at the Stroud High School Softball Complex.
Appearing before District Judge Traci Soderstrom for her arraignment on Sep. 19, Formanski pleaded not guilty.
The judge received the plea and set the cause for the felony disposition docket on Jan. 16, 2024, the jury trial call docket Jan. 23, 2024 and a jury trial at 9 a.m. on Feb. 5, 2024.
Formanski made her initial appearance on May 25 before Special Judge Emily Mueller. In a court appearance June 22, Judge Mueller scheduled her preliminary hearing and on that date, she waived her preliminary hearing.
Stroud Police Officer James McNeill, states in a probable cause affidavit, that he was requested to respond to the Stroud High School Softball Complex around 19 minutes after midnight on May 19.
He notes that Stroud Officer Charles Mash was out with a suspicious subject on school grounds after hours.
McNeill said as he arrived he observed a female whom he knew from previous contacts to be Formanski and that she had warrants out for her arrest. The officer reported he contacted Stroud Police Dispatch to verify warrants from Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties earlier that evening.
He states the warrants were verified. McNeill said that he approached Formanski advising her “we had warrants for arrest” and placed handcuffs on her at that time.
As she was escorted to McNeill’s patrol unit for transport, Officer Mash inquired if she had any contraband. Formanski told the officer she had a bag of meth in her bra.
McNeill stated he transported her to the Stroud Police Department to have a female jailer search her.
Once at the Stroud Police Department, McNeill said, Dispatcher and Jailer Sara Crawford was requested to do a search for contraband. During the search, Crawford informed McNeill there was a plastic quart Ziploc bag located in her bra.
The bag was placed into evidence and secured, Mc-Neill reported.
McNeill then transported Formanski to the Lincoln County Jail in Chandler on the Lincoln and Pottawatomie County warrants.
According to public records, District Judge Traci Soderstrom on May 2 issued a $10,000 bench warrant for the arrest of Formanski when she failed to appear for her arraignment on that date.
She was charged Sep. 2, 2022 with second degree burglary.
On May 19, McNeill returned and filed the warrant. Formanski appeared before Special Judge Emily Mueller on that day and the judge stated her bond remains as previously set. She rescheduled her arraignment for June 20.
Also, a $50,000 bench warrant had been issued April 17 this year in Pottawatomie County District for the arrest of Formanski when she failed to show up for her hearing. On April 5, 2022, charges were filed there for several felonies and misdemeanors.