Trial date set for Stoddard County drug death charges

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. — A Bloomfield man facing drug charges connected to a 2008 death appeared in court on Wednesday and had his trial date set.

Tyler Hardin of Bloomfield entered a formal not guilty plea before Judge Stephen Sharp and had his trial scheduled for May 11 at 9 a.m. A pretrial conference was also scheduled for April 20 at 10:30 a.m.

Hardin is currently being housed in the Stoddard County Jail and faces charges of the Class B felony distribution of a controlled substance (fentanyl), Class B felony of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, Class B felony possession of a controlled substance and the Class A misdemeanor unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.

He is facing a $150,000 cash-only bond.

Hardin's charges stem from an incident in early November, at which time he allegedly sold a fentanyl patch to Brian Maslinski of Dexter, Mo., who died shortly thereafter of an apparent drug overdose.

A preliminary hearing was held in February.

Keith Haynes of the SEMO Drug Task Force and the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department testified in the hearing that during an interview, Hardin admitted selling Maslinski the patch.

Testimony was also provided by an individual in the car with Maslinski at the time of the alleged deal.

Hardin's attorneys, Marcus Glass and Russell Oliver, filed a motion for discovery in the case Thursday as well.