District attorney says Ada shooting appears justified

ADA — Cash Freeman was home on a lunch break Friday when a girl told him a father next door was trying to drown his twin infants.

Freeman grabbed his revolver.

Police were called to a home in the 1800 block of E Sixth Street shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday, said Lisa Bratcher, a city spokeswoman. Neighbors reported a woman was calling for help, screaming that someone armed with a knife was trying to hurt her children.

Bratcher said Leland Foster, 27, of Poteau, had taken his 3-month-old twins from their mother and was trying to drown them in a bathtub. Foster also threatened the mother with a knife.

“(Freeman) pushed the bathroom door and saw the babies underwater,” Bratcher said. “He shot twice, he shot him in the

back twice and killed him.”

Although early reports indicate Freeman acted to defend the two children, Pontotoc County District Attorney Paul Smith said he hasn’t seen a police report on the incident and can’t yet determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Smith said that Freeman appears to have been justified in shooting Foster.

The children were taken to an Ada hospital before they were taken by helicopter to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Both children were released the next day.

Freeman was taken to the Ada police station, where he was interviewed and released that day.

Freeman, who could not be reached for comment, told a local television station he felt he did what he had to do, but expressed concern that he could face legal repercussions.

Court records show Foster received three deferred sentences in 2011 for arson, stalking and domestic abuse.