Charges dropped against ex-49er Foster.
Player had been arrested after incident in Tampa
For the second time in less than a year, former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster has seen domestic violence charges against him dropped, court documents show.
Foster’s attorney Eddie Suarez said he believed the charges, related to a Nov. 24 incident at the 49ers team hotel in Tampa, were dropped due to “issues with the witness’ credibility,” according to TMZ Sports. Foster was scheduled for arraignment Thursday in Hillsborough County in Florida, but the hearing was canceled after prosecutors reportedly dropped the case.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office requested the charges be dismissed in a court filing dated Wednesday. Neither that office nor Suarez could be reached for comment by this news organization Thursday.
Shortly after Foster and estranged girlfriend Elissa Ennis got into the Nov. 24 altercation at the 49ers team hotel, Foster was arrested and released by the 49ers. En-
nis soon after appeared on “Good Morning America,” where she detailed the hotel encounter and retracted her recantation in the Los Gatos case.
It was the second time in the past 12 months that Foster was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, with the first occurring at their Los Gatos home in February. Two felony domestic- violence related charges in that case were dismissed by a judge in May when Ennis recanted the story she had told police. A third charge, for assault-rifle possession, was downgraded to a misdemeanor; Foster pleaded no contest and was sentenced to probation.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said after the Tampa arrest that his office was waiting for prosecutors there to complete their case before pursuing any legal options, including whether to pursue a probation violation for Foster. He also stated that Ennis will face no perjury charges stemming from the TV interview where she confessed to lying on the stand to protect Foster.
On Thursday, Rosen’s office issued a statement reiterating that prosecutors are still evaluating the Foster situation.
“Mr. Foster remains on probation for his misdemeanor conviction in Santa Clara County,” the statement reads. “Would a court in Santa Clara County, California consider an allegation that did not result in a criminal charge in another state to be a basis for a violation of his court probation condition to obey all laws? We are looking into it.”
The 49ers declined to comment after the news that the Florida charges were dropped against Foster. But after the organization cut him from the team, general manager John Lynch said, “I was very direct with him, that if he didn’t prove to us that we could trust how he made decisions it didn’t matter whether he was right or wrong ... That’s the consequences of life. If you put yourself in those situations, that’s not OK with us.”
Also after the Florida arrest, news surfaced that Foster and Ennis were the subject of a domestic-violence call at an apartment in Santa Clara in October, but no one was arrested after police said they found no evidence of a crime. But they told police that they lived together, indicating that they reconciled after the Los Gatos case was dismissed.
On “Good Morning America,” Ennis described how she had reconnected with Foster and how his latest arrest unfolded.
“He called me to come see him in Florida,” she said. “And I came and he took one of my phones and he slapped me and pushed me. I told him I was going to tell his new girlfriend that he paid for my flight out there, so that’s what triggered it.
“He called me out there so we could work on our relationship. And so I was, ‘I can’t believe he’d be back to doing this because we both were seeing therapists.’ ”
Within days of being released by the 49ers, Foster was picked up by Washington. The team was criticized, and said Foster would not suit up for them until the legal process was resolved.