Oregon Police Hunting Man for Allegedly Torturing Woman — 2 Years After Jail for Similar Crime
Authorities in Oregon are searching for the suspected culprit of a kidnapping and brutal assault in Grants Pass — less than two years after he was convicted of a similar crime in Nevada.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, is wanted in connection with the attack of a female victim who was found beaten, unconscious and bound by police officers Tuesday, according to a statement from the Grants Pass Police Department.
The woman was later transported to an area hospital in critical condition, while police believe Foster fled the scene before their officers arrived.
The authorities added that Foster is "armed and should be considered extremely dangerous." He is known to have recently used a dark-blue 2008 Nissan Sentra 4-door with Oregon license plates 407EDX, police added.
"We are laser-focused on capturing this man and bringing him to justice," Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman said at a news conference Thursday, reported the Associated Press. "This is an all-hands-on-deck operation."
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"This is a very serious event, a brutal assault of one of our residents that we take extremely seriously. And we will not rest until we capture this individual," Hensman added.
The police chief added that he found it "extremely troubling" that Foster was not behind bars in Nevada after he was previously charged with five felonies in the state, reported the outlet.
This included the 2019 assault and battery of his then-girlfriend in Las Vegas, who suffered seven broken ribs, two black eyes and other related injuries after being bound at the wrists and ankles with zip ties and duct tape for two weeks, AP reported.
The girlfriend only managed to escape Foster when he took her on a grocery store and gas station errand, added AP. She later told police she was forced to eat the chemical lye while she was held captive, and that she once choked to the point of unconsciousness as a result.
RELATED: Woman Accused of Pushing a Child onto Train Tracks in Oregon Arraigned on Assault Charges
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Foster was arrested by SWAT officers later that day, according to AP, and spent a total of 729 days behind bars while awaiting his trial.
Despite the fact that Foster was also awaiting trial in connection with a 2018 domestic abuse charge during his time in jail, he secured an August 2021 plea deal that reduced his sentence to less than 200 days more, reported NBC News.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
