Foster charged after reportedly beating man in local liquor store, possessing

Carl Foster, 53, of Gainesville, was granted pre-trial release on his own recognizance (OR bond) Feb. 13 before Associate Judge Raymond Gross in a case in which he allegedly beat a man up in Antler Pizza & Package Store in Gainesville. Officers also reportedly found methamphetamine on him during the arrest for the assault. He is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 27 for a criminal setting in the case. 

His pre-trial release is with the conditions that he is supervised by Court Probationary Services, drug screened twice weekly and remain at his home except for work, meeting an attorney, attending court hearings, medical or pharmaceutical care, buy groceries or other subsistence matters. 

According to the probable cause statement, prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Sherman, on Feb. 11, a report of an assault was called in to the OCSD by employees at Antler Pizza & Package in Gainesville. The caller said a man walked into the liquor store entrance of the establishment, punched another man numerous times and then left. 

Sherman and Deputy Moss responded and met with the victim, whom they were familiar with from prior interactions, the report says. A witness told the officer that the victim was purchasing some items when Foster parked his vehicle, walked straight into the store and punched the man in the head, face and torso area, causing the man to fall into a display case within the liquor store. He said Foster then grabbed the man by the torso and used his clothing to throw the victim back toward the entrance on the ground, away from the display case. He then got on top of the man and continued to strike him. 

The employees at Antler were able to break up the fight, but Foster reportedly continued to kick the man as he was being pulled off of him. 

He then left the establishment, got into his vehicle and drove off. 

The officers found Foster at his residence in the same vehicle security footage showed he left in. He was arrested for the assault. During a search, officers found a blue plastic straw with a white powdery substance on it, which the officers recognized as methamphetamine. The item field-tested positive for meth. He was transported to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department, where he was booked into the jail and held until the following day.

The Ozark County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page notes another incident in which Foster was reportedly stopped in a traffic stop in Gainesville on Jan. 13, when OCSD K9 Karo was activated and alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. A plastic container was reportedly located in Foster’s jacket pocket with a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for meth.