A Norfork man charged with beating a male victim with a handgun and holding the weapon to the victim’s head appeared during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Monday.
Forty-year-old Justin Robert Foster pled not guilty to charges of first-degree battery, theft of property, terroristic threatening and breaking or entering.
He is free on $10,000 bond.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the incident leading to the arrest happened in early January when the victim and a friend were parked at the Mountain Home Walmart.
The victim alleged he had been harassed by Foster and his wife for more than a year. The reason for the problem was not spelled out in electronic court records.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim was walking toward Walmart when Foster and his wife reportedly attacked him.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim ran back to his vehicle and left the parking lot. He told investigators that a short time later he noticed the Fosters were chasing him.
In hopes of ending the chase, the victim said he drove to an acquaintance’s home along Stephanie Drive in Gassville. He told a Gassville police officer he did not believe Foster would follow him to the home.
But Foster and his wife did pull into the residence. The victim said before he could exit his truck, Foster “yanked the door open” and began to beat him about the head and face with a handgun.
As the beating continued, the victim said he was about to fall out of the open door when Foster pointed the gun at him and held the gun barrel to his head. He said he believed he was about to be shot in the head.
While Foster was engaged in the alleged beating, his wife is reported to have gone into the passenger side of the victim’s vehicle and took a dash camera mounted on the windshield.
The victim said he purchased the camera to record acts of harassment by Foster and his wife. According to the probable cause affidavit, the harassment had been going on for more than a year.
The resident at the home along Stephanie said the commotion woke him up, he went outside and stopped the beating, according to the police report. A doorbell camera at the residence was reported to be consistent with reports from the victim and the resident of the home.
The resident of the home drove the victim to Baxter Health where it took several stitches to close head wounds, “consistent” with having been hit several times with a hard blunt object.
APPEALING BATTERY CONVICTION
Foster is also appealing a guilty verdict rendered in District Court on a charge of 3rd degree battery.
The charge stemmed from an incident that happened in early April 2020. Foster was accused of attacking his father-in-law who had come to the Foster home along Millcreek Lane in Norfork to pick up his daughter and two teenage grandchildren.
Foster was found guilty after a bench trial in District Court on February 4, 2021. He was given 30 days jail time, with 23 days suspended and one day credit for time served.
He was ordered to spend six more days in jail with the time to be spent on weekends.
Foster was also ordered to pay victim restitution of $1000.
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