Reuben Foster Cleared of Domestic Violence Charges Due to Insufficient Evidence

A California judge ruled prosecutors have insufficient evidence to continue pursuing domestic violence charges against San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster, NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco reported Wednesday. 

According to Maiocco, a charge of possession of an assault weapon against Foster has been lowered to a misdemeanor.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Network provided a statement on Foster from general manager John Lynch:

The Santa Clara District Attorney's office also released a statement:

Prosecutors alleged in February that Foster punched his ex-girlfriend, Elissa Ennis, eight to 10 times, which left her with a ruptured eardrum.

However, Ennis' attorney released a statement on April 25 saying the injuries were caused by a separate altercation with another woman and that Ennis had lied about the alleged assault with Foster.

Ennis testified on May 17 she fabricated the claims against Foster for personal gain.

"It was all a money scheme," she said, per the Mercury News' Robert Salonga. "I didn't want to get this far in the news. It was about money. … I wanted to sue him on my own."

Foster's attorney also asked Ennis whether she had planned to try to "ruin his career" when he broke up with her, to which Ennis responded affirmatively.

Although he has yet to participate in any of the team's offseason activities, Foster remains a member of the 49ers roster. Lynch said in April that Foster wouldn't "be a part of this organization going forward" if he were found guilty of domestic violence.

The 2017 first-round draft pick may still face discipline from the NFL since the league doesn't require a player be convicted before punishing him under the personal conduct policy.