Councilman-elect Foster charged
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on December 4, 2015 1:46 PM
Bevan Foster
Bevan Foster was charged and arrested by the Goldsboro Police Department six days before he was elected to the District 4 seat of the Goldsboro City Council on a misdemeanor charge of communicating threats.
He is slated to be sworn in to the City Council seat on Monday, Dec. 7.
According to documents obtained from the Wayne County Courthouse Clerk of Court office and the Goldsboro Police Department the incident occurred on Oct. 23, and Foster was arrested on Oct. 28.
A warrant for Foster's arrest was issued on Oct. 26, and states that Foster allegedly threatened to physically injure James Robert Hinnant of 703 S. Taylor St.
"The threat was communicated to James Robert Hinnant by telling him on a public street, 'I am going to kill you,' and the threat was made in a manner and under circumstances which would cause a reasonable person to believe that the threat was likely to be carried out, and the person threatened believed that the threat would be carried out," the warrant for Foster's arrest says.
According to the arrest report, Foster was arrested, released and was not placed under any bond.
But Foster said in a phone interview Thursday evening that he had never communicated any sort of threat toward Hinnant.
"That (Hinnant) is my uncle," Foster said. "This is a man that has done everything he can to get me kicked out of the race. I never communicated any threats to him because I didn't have to. I ran a clean race and was elected to represent my city because that is what I want to do. I don't know what is wrong with my uncle or where he is at mentally. It's a sad day to be accused of something you didn't do."
Foster said he was approached by the officer who arrested him -- Donna Elliott -- on Oct. 28 while he was at the polls during early voting for the general election.
"I was at the polls when an officer approached me and said, 'We have a warrant for your arrest,'" Foster said. "And I said, 'For what?' You know, I haven't done anything, so I didn't understand what it was for. She told me she could take me in or I could walk over (to the Police Department) with them, so I walked over and, you know, turned myself in and signed the sheet and I have a court date now on Jan. 15."
Foster said he is very frustrated by the incident and by his uncle perpetually attempting to derail his election to the District 4 seat on the City Council and hurt his reputation.
Foster also said, given his past record of four felony convictions related to the sale or possession of cocaine, he would be the first to admit if he had communicated threat towards his uncle and would plead guilty if the allegations were true.
The issue, he said, is that he never did what his uncle is claiming.
"You know, I could go down to the Sheriff's Department and take out a report on you for communicating threats right now even if you didn't do it," Foster said. "Had I done this, I am man enough to admit it. If you look at my previous charges, I pled guilty to them because I did those things. But I did not do what he is claiming."