Niners’ Foster pleads not guilty to 2 charges
Niners linebacker Reuben Foster pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony domestic violence and possession of assault rifle charges in connection with an incident in February involving his girlfriend, who has since recanted her statement.
Foster, 24, also pleaded not guilty to felony charges for forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime and declined to waive his right to a speedy trial at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 17.
On Feb. 11, Foster was arrested in Los Gatos after he allegedly dragged his girlfriend by the hair, physically threw her out of his house and punched her in the head at least eight times, reportedly puncturing her eardrum. The woman flagged down a stranger’s car on Shannon Road and asked the driver to call 911, according to the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office.
In April, Foster’s girlfriend,
Elissa Ennis, issued a statement through her attorney, Stephanie Rickard, recanting the allegations and saying she made up the story about Foster punching her repeatedly in an attempt to “trash his career” after Foster tried to break off the relationship.
Rickard provided the district attorney with video evidence two weeks ago that the defense says will exonerate Foster. Neither the district attorney nor Foster’s defense attorney, Joshua Bentley, have said what the video shows.
Prosecutors are investigating the video and are likely working to authenticate it, said Steven Clark, a criminal attorney not affiliated with the case.
The video submitted by the
defense will likely be a “centerpiece” of the case, Clark added.
Despite the video evidence, the case will continue to a preliminary hearing next week where prosecutors will lay out evidence against Foster and a judge will determine whether there is enough to go to trial.
By declining to waive his right to a speedy trial, Foster’s defense fast-tracked the hearing, putting pressure on prosecutors to build a solid case in a short amount of time, Clark said.
“It’s something that the D.A. now needs to get going on and they will have to be ready for
the preliminary hearing, including possibly calling the accuser to the stand and seeing if she’s actually going to testify or will she take the Fifth Amendment” against self-incrimination, Clark said.
In addition to the felony charges, Foster was initially charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly having a highcapacity magazine for a SIG Sauer 516 short-barreled rifle. However, the misdemeanor charge was dropped because a federal judge in San Diego issued an injunction last summer against a California law that would ban the possession of gun magazines holding
more than 10 rounds.
The 49ers have not released any new statements regarding Foster’s case, but general manager John Lynch said several weeks ago that the team would release Foster if he’s found guilty of the charges.
“I do want to be very clear, abundantly clear, that if these charges are proven true, if Reuben did indeed hit this young lady, he won’t be part of our organization moving forward,” Lynch said.