Alleged Raynham Batterer Held Without Bail

A 59-year-old Raynham man accused of violently assaulting his girlfriend was found dangerous by a Taunton District Court judge and ordered held without bail for up to 120 days while the case proceeds towards trial, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Foster Starks is charged with kidnapping; strangulation/suffocation; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; assault and battery on a family or household member, and witness intimidation

On December 10, Raynham Police were dispatched to a domestic disturbance. On arrival, officers observed a large amount of blood smeared on a hallway wall. The alleged victim appeared to have multiple injuries to her face, and her shirt was covered in blood. There was a laceration on the right inside of her lip, and several scratches and red marks on her neck. She was shaking and appeared highly distraught, a spokesman for the DA's office said in a media release.

The woman told officers she was lying in bed with Starks and about to watch a movie. He then allegedly became upset, starting throwing things around the room, jumped on top of her and began striking her in the face. He allegedly put his hands around her neck and choked her to the point where she could not breathe. She freed herself, but the defendant caught her in the living room and began a second strangulation using his forearm. She was able to flee again, and seized a flashlight to defend herself, but he allegedly grabbed it from her and hit her with it. Starks allegedly strangled her for the third time and she said she lost consciousness for a short period. The woman told police he prevented her from leaving the apartment by holding her down. She was eventually able to flee and called 911 for help.

Starks was placed under arrest, arraigned on December 11, and was the subject of a dangerousness hearing on December 16. Judge Edmund Mathers deemed the defendant dangerous and ordered him held. The hearing was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Thompson.

"This is clearly a very violent individual who does not belong out on the street. This is a very violent incident and the victim and the community need to be protected from the defendant," District Attorney Quinn said.

It's not the defendant's first run-in with the law. In 2013 a man named Foster L. Starks, then 51, was sentenced in federal court to serve 210 months in prison in connection with a 2009 traffic stop in Taunton where Massachusetts State Police found a handgun and 14 rounds of ammunition. It was a violation of federal law for Starks to possess a gun or bullets because he was a convicted felon.