GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Update: 6:29 a.m. EST Feb. 1, 2023: The suspect in a violent kidnapping in Oregon died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night after being taken into custody following a standoff with law enforcement, a police spokesman told The Associated Press.
Original story:
Grants Pass Police Department says a man wanted for attempted murder in Oregon was hiding under the house where he allegedly tortured a woman. Authorities say the incident has seen been “resolved.”
Grants Pass Police Lt. Jeff Hattersley told KTVL Tuesday night that Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, was hiding under a house in Grants Pass and officers were working to try to get him to surrender.
However, just before 8 p.m., Hattersley said that the situation has been “resolved” but provided no indication that Foster was arrested or not, according to The Associated Press.
Authorities reportedly received “credible information” on Tuesday that Foster had entered the house where a woman was found unconscious on Jan. 24, according to The Daily Courier. The woman remains in critical condition at the hospital.
The newspaper reported that officers from four different agencies were in the area and set up a command post and that a SWAT team was on the scene.
Residents in the area reportedly received notification of shelter in place, according to the AP.
Grants Pass Police Department on Facebook said that Foster was reportedly seen Tuesday morning in the Grants Pass area. He was reportedly seen walking a dog.
On Jan. 24, just before 7 p.m., authorities said officers were called to a house in the 2100 block of Shane Way about an assault. When officers arrived, they found an unconscious woman who had been bound and severely beaten. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Foster was identified as the suspect.
In 2019, before moving to Oregon, Foster pled guilty to a felony count of battery and a misdemeanor count of battery constituting domestic violence after holding his then-girlfriend captive inside her apartment in Las Vegas for two weeks, according to the AP. He was originally charged with five felonies that included assault and battery that would have come with decades behind bars.
After reaching a plea deal with prosecutors, Foster was sentenced to two and a half years in a Nevada prison. According to the AP, Foster awaited trial in jail for 729 days which ended up being factored into his sentence, leaving him with less than 200 days to serve in state custody.
According to a Las Vegas police report obtained by the AP, Foster’s then-girlfriend had seven broken ribs, two black eyes, and other injuries from her two-week captivity. She was able to escape during a grocery and gas station trip with Foster.
Foster was out of jail at the time on a suspended sentence for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, according to court records obtained by the AP. He was also awaiting trial for a 2018 domestic violence case which was settled with a “time served” plea deal.
Hattersley told KTVL that further details will be provided during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
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