Judge Dismisses Domestic Violence Charges Against Reuben Foster

After the ex-girlfriend of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster recanted her allegations of domestic violence in court last week, Superior Court Judge Nona Klippen ruled today that there is insufficient evidence to proceed with his domestic violence case, and ordered the charges dismissed.

Foster was arrested in February and, per the district attorney’s office, was accused of punching his girlfriend Elissa Ennis in the head “8 to 10 times,” rupturing her eardrum, and throwing her out of their house by her hair. In April, Ennis released a statement through her lawyer saying that Foster had not threatened or hurt her, and her injuries had actually come from a fight with another woman. She repeated this under oath, and the judge determined that video of her fight with the other woman was more consistent with Ennis’s injuries than punches from Foster would have been.

Update (7:59 p.m. ET): The Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office released a statement saying they were “disappointed” by the judge’s decision and still believed that “the evidence demonstrated that Mr. Foster seriously hurt his girlfriend.”

Foster still faces one remaining charge for possession of an assault weapon, though the judge reduced it from a felony to a misdemeanor. His pretrial hearing for that charge is scheduled for June 6, with an additional court appearance in Alabama on charges of marijuana possession scheduled for later that month.