Accused killer also faces drug charges
NORRISTOWN » Hours after he allegedly fatally assaulted his girlfriend and before he took her to a hospital, a Perkiomen man took time to go to court to address charges he distributed cocaine in Upper Providence, according to court papers.
Nicholas Alexander Forman, 23, most recently of the 900 block of Hamilton Road, appeared in the Limerick courtroom of District Court Judge Richard H. Welsh at 9:15 a.m. Feb. 3 for a preliminary hearing on charges of possession with intent to deliver cocaine and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with his alleged drug dealing activities between August and October 2019.
With the drug charges, Upper Providence detectives alleged that in April 2019 an informant told authorities Forman, then of the first block of Marshwood Drive in Upper Providence, was selling cocaine. The informant allegedly told detectives Forman attended Montgomery County Community College and was a server at the Olive Garden restaurant in the Town Center complex in Upper Providence.
“The (informant) added that Nick Forman would often conduct his drug deals in the bathroom at the Olive Garden while he was working,” Lower Providence Police Corporal Michael Slattery and Upper Providence Police Corporal Scott W. Reynolds alleged in the arrest affidavit.
In August 2019, detectives arranged a controlled drug buy during which an informant purchased an undisclosed amount of cocaine while Forman was working at the restaurant, according to the arrest affidavit. Undercover detectives observed Forman and the informant enter the restaurant’s bathroom, where the drug deal occurred. The informant subsequently turned over an amount of cocaine to detectives, according to court papers.
In late October 2019, during another controlled drug buy, an informant purchased an amount of cocaine from Forman during an arranged meeting outside his Marshwood Drive residence, according to the criminal complaint. Detectives witnessed the alleged “hand to hand transaction,” court documents indicate.
During the Feb. 3 preliminary hearing, Forman was ordered to stand trial on the drug-related charges in county court and was released on bail pending that trial, according to court records. He faces a March 25 arraignment on those charges in county court.
But while he attended the Limerick hearing, Forman’s girlfriend, 22-yearold Sabrina Harooni, of Gilbertsville, lay dying inside his Perkiomen residence after he allegedly assaulted her the night before, according to a timeline provided by detectives in an affidavit of probable cause.
It wasn’t until Forman left the Limerick court hearing and returned to the Perkiomen residence that he summoned an Uber driver to take an unresponsive Harooni to the emergency department at Pottstown Hospital Tower Health, according to court documents. Hospital officials told detectives Forman and Harooni arrived at the hospital sometime after 11 a.m. and Harooni was suffering from injuries to her neck, face and head.
Lifesaving measures were ceased at about 1:15 p.m. on Feb. 3 and Harooni was pronounced dead, according to court papers.
Forman allegedly told detectives Harooni was assaulted by three females during an altercation around 12:30 a.m. Feb. 3 outside his Perkiomen residence and that he carried an injured Harooni into his home and that she was still breathing. Forman allegedly claimed that after he attended the Limerick court hearing he returned home at 10 a.m., checked on Harooni, realized she was unresponsive and summoned an Uber driver to take them to the hospital, according to court papers. Forman allegedly claimed Harooni was still breathing when he took her to the hospital.
But prosecutors alleged Forman’s statement was not consistent with the Pottstown hospital staff who indicated Harooni was cold to the touch and had a low body temperature upon arrival to the hospital.
During an investigation, detectives, according to a criminal complaint, uncovered a 13-second audio and video recording on Forman’s cellphone that depicted Harooni, traces of blood on her face, lying unresponsive on a grassy area believed to be outside the Perkiomen residence.
In the recording, a male voice is heard stating, “This is what a cheating liar gets. You hear me? Cheating (expletive) liar,” as well as several other obscenities, according to the criminal complaint.
At the time of Forman’s arrest, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele called Forman’s alleged actions “callous” and “disturbing.”
Forman, who is represented by defense lawyer Michael A. John, is awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges of first- and third-degree murder in connection with Harooni’s death.
Court records also indicate that Forman has a 2015 conviction for possessing drug paraphernalia in Upper Providence. At that time, Forman was 18 and he was sentenced to one year of probation.