By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A former Cushing man on probation for marijuana and property crimes has been jailed on $100,000 bail pending his June 18 arraignment on a charge of possessing 28 times the trafficking weight of fentanyl.
If convicted of aggravated fentanyl trafficking, Taudje Nickolus Ewy, 33, of Stillwater, could be given a life prison term plus a fine of $250,000 to $500,000, court records show.
Ewy was arrested at Highway 33 and Western at 6:12 pm on May 31 by Stillwater Police Officer Brett Moore, who had received information “in regard to Taudje Ewy trafficking illegal drugs from Oklahoma City to Stillwater and the Payne County area this afternoon,” his affidavit alleged.
“Taudje was believed to be picking up a large quantity of pure powder fentanyl commonly referred to as ‘fetty’ to distribute in Payne County. I’ve had numerous contacts with Taudje and know him to be involved in the distribution of narcotics.” Moore alleged in his affidavit.
“Taudje is currently on a 15-year suspended sentence in which he pleaded guilty to possession of CDS with the intent to distribute as well as additional charges,” the affidavit said.
“On this date, I observed Taudje driving his vehicle, a black 2006 Nissan bearing OK tag PAP820, in and around the Stillwater area. I kept surveillance on Taudje as he visited numerous residences in the Perkins area.
“The residences he visited are all known fentanyl users, and his stays were very brief. It appeared as if Taudje was picking up money prior to making his drive to OKC,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
At about 2 pm, Taudje returned to his residence in Stillwater for a brief moment and then left heading west on 6th, the affidavit alleged. “Taudje was seen leaving the city limits and continuing toward I-35. I believed Taudje was making his trip to OKC to re-up on fentanyl,” the officer alleged.
The Stillwater officer, a member of the Special Projects Unit that is cross commissioned through the Sheriff’s Office, alleged in his affidavit, “I believed Taudje would return to the Perkins area via Hwy. 33 to deliver product to the residences he had visited.”
At 5:50 pm, “I observed Taudje driving the same vehicle eastbound on Hwy. 33 from Coyle Road. Near the area of Hwy. 33 and Country Club, I observed the speed limit drop from 65 mph to 55 mph in a construction area. Taudje did not slow his speed. As we approached Sangre, I observed Taudje cross the center dividing line with both his driver’s side tires on two separate occasions.
“I activated my emergency overhead lights in an attempt to conduct a traffic stop. Taudje immediately began making furtive movements toward the center console in his vehicle and did not yield to my emergency lights,” but eventually pulled into a driveway just east of an intersection, the officer alleged in his affidavit.
“I asked for Taudje’s driver’s license and proof of insurance. While Taudje was retrieving the requested items, I observed a piece of aluminum foil with burn marks, referred to as a hotrail, and a cut straw in his hand. Taudje was attempting to conceal the items, at which time I told him to exit the vehicle.
“Taudje dropped the cut straw, which fell to the pavement and was able to discard the aluminum foil in the backseat floorboard,” where it was found to still have a melted product believed to be fentanyl, the officer alleged in his affidavit.
“I questioned Taudje about his travels, and he admitted to going to OKC to re-up; however, he stated he did not receive any product and only purchased the pill I recovered on the aluminum foil,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
“Taudje consented to allowing me to look through his cellular phone. While looking through his messages, it was apparent Taudje did indeed receive a quantity of narcotics; however, we were unable to locate them in the vehicle.
“Taudje denied having anything on his person and was searched multiple times before eventually locating a plastic sack, which he had concealed in his groin beneath his genitals and thigh. The sack was removed, which contained a large quantity of a powdery substance believed to be fentanyl, as well as two separate baggies containing a purple ‘playdoh’ like substance.
“After arriving at the police department, I asked Taudje, for my safety, what the purple like substance was. Taudje stated he was unsure as to the actual content; however, he believed it was either ‘tranq’, heroin, or carfentanil. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
“Upon further investigation, I believe the purple substance is a drug referred to as ‘purple heroin’ which is a mixture of heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil. It should be noted that a particle of carfentanil, smaller than a grain of salt, could be lethal to a human,” the officer alleged in his affidavit.
“The total weight of seized fentanyl was 28.07 grams. This is 28 times the trafficking weight of fentanyl,” the affidavit alleged.
At the time of his May 31 arrest in the fentanyl case, Ewy was on probation for 15 years for second-degree burglary, with a concurrent 10 years for possessing marijuana with intent to distribute and a concurrent five years for concealing stolen property, all imposed in 2019 for crimes in 2017 in Stillwater, when he was living in Cushing, court records show.
