Charles City man sentenced for assaulting a deputy, burglary, other charges

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City has been sentenced to 32 days in jail and a suspended sentence of up to 10 years in jail plus probation after pleading guilty to several charges including burglary, assaulting a deputy and criminal mischief.

James Ray Foster Jr., age 52, had been  charged with first-degree burglary, a Class B felony; first-degree criminal mischief, a Class C felony; assault on a sheriff’s deputy, a Class D felony; assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor; and operating while under the influence first offense, a serious misdemeanor.

Foster pleaded guilty to four of the charges in an agreement that would dismiss the assault with a dangerous weapon charge.

The burglary charge was reduced to a Class C felony and the charge of assault on a peace officer causing bodily injury was reduced to an aggravated misdemeanor.

District Court Judge Chris Foy had previously accepted Alford pleas on the burglary and criminal mischief charges, and Foster filed written pleas of guilty on the other two charges.

An Alford plea means the defendant agrees that the prosecution has enough evidence to likely convince a jury of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but he does not admit guilt. The criminal record impact is the same as pleading guilty.

On Monday in Floyd County District Court, Judge Colleen Weiland handed down Foster’s sentence.

She sentenced Foster to an indeterminate term in prison up to 10 years each on both the burglary and criminal mischief charges, to be served concurrently but fully suspended. She ordered him to be placed under three to five years probation for each charge and to be placed at a residential community facility for 180 days or until maximum benefits are achieved.

She also ordered him to pay a supervision enrollment fee, promptly complete a substance abuse evaluation and follow through with recommendations, promptly complete a mental health evaluation and follow through with recommendations, remain compliant with prescribed medication and therapy regime and abstain from use of alcohol and nonprescribed controlled substances.

On the assault on a peace officer charge, Weiland sentenced Foster to 30 days in jail with credit for time served, plus a suspended fine.

On the operating while intoxicated charge, the judge ordered Foster to serve two days in jail, with that term to run consecutively with the other three counts, and ordered him to pay a fine of $1,250 plus surcharge of 15%.

According to documents filed in Floyd County District Court, on July 12 Foster drove a 2001 Chevrolet Impala into a house s​​outhwest of Floyd, and then into another building on that property. The documents say a sheriff’s deputy made contact with Foster at his residence and Foster allegedly charged the deputy “in an aggressive manner with intent to inflict serious injury.”

The documents said the amount of damage Foster allegedly caused was in excess of $10,000.