Rangeline traffic stop leads to arrest of Joplin woman on fentanyl trafficking charge

A Joplin woman was charged with drug trafficking in the first degree by the Newton County Prosecuting Attorney following a traffic stop at Rangeline Eagle Stop 12:10 a.m. today.

An arrest warrant was issued for Tara L. Fleming (DOB 1994) with bond set at $10,000 cash or surety.

From the probable cause statement:

Officers with the Joplin Police Department conducted a vehicle stop at 3504 South Range Line Road, Eagle Stop, in the City of Joplin, Newton County. The vehicle was a red 2008 Pontiac G6. Tara Fleming was the passenger of the vehicle at the time of the stop. The vehicle was stopped for running a red light on South Range Line Road. 

Officers immediately recognized Tara Fleming as the passenger of the stop. At the time of the stop, Tara had 2 active felony warrants for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Tara also had 4 active Joplin City Bench Warrants. 

Tara was detained and shortly after the warrants were confirmed. Patrol then asked for a Police K-9 to be deployed on the vehicle. 

After the K-9 alerted, Officers conducted a hand search of the vehicle. During the hand search, Officers located 7 grams of suspected Fentanyl in the glove box of the vehicle, where Tara had been seated. 

Once Tara was transported to the Joplin City Jail, a strip search was conducted on Tara’s person. Jail Staff located 18.76 grams of Suspected Fentanyl concealed inside Tara’s buttocks. I later tested both substances located during the investigation using the Tru Narc Device. Both tested positive for Fentanyl. In total, 25.76 grams of Fentanyl was located and seized during the investigation.