By Phil Helsel and The Associated Press -
NBC News
An Oregon man wanted on attempted murder and other charges after a woman was found bound and badly beaten last week has been in custody since Tuesday night, Grants Pass police said.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster, 36, of Wolf Creek, was arrested after a standoff that lasted several hours, police said in a brief statement.
[Five police officers charged with murder for the death of Tire Nichols in Memphis, pending video of the beating]
A press conference was scheduled for Wednesday.
Law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment or more details as the situation was ongoing.
Foster has been the subject of intense manhunt since Jan. 24, when Grants Pass police officers responded to a home and found a woman who "had been bound and severely beaten unconscious," police said at the time. .
Foster was wanted for kidnapping, attempted murder and assault, according to police.
The victim was in critical condition.
Foster attempted to kill the woman while "intentionally torturing" her, Josephine County District Attorney Joshua Eastman wrote in a court document.
Benjamin Obadiah Foster.KOBI
“I am disgusted by what I know happened,” Police Chief Warren Hensman said last week, according to Medford's NBC affiliate KOBI.
“It was an evil act,” he added.
Police said Tuesday on Facebook that Foster was seen in the Grants Pass area, apparently walking a dog.
Police had warned that Foster was still using dating apps while the police were looking for him and that he may be doing so to contact unsuspecting people for help.
Two years ago, Foster was convicted in Nevada of holding another woman captive.
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In 2019, Foster held his then-girlfriend captive inside his Las Vegas apartment for two weeks.
He was initially charged with five felony counts, including assault and battery, but in 2021 reached an agreement with Clark County prosecutors to plead guilty to felony and misdemeanor battery.
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He was sentenced to one to two and a half years in prison, but had already spent 729 days in jail awaiting trial and was released.
Grants Pass is a city of about 39,000 located in southwestern Oregon, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of the California border.
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Law enforcement had surrounded a town home Tuesday, and a crisis negotiator had been on the scene, before police announced Foster was in custody, KOBI reported.
Hensman, the police chief, last week described the attack as brutal and said authorities' hearts went out to the victim and her family.
He said it happened over "a prolonged period of time."
“We normally think that this could not happen in our small community of 40,000, but it can happen anywhere,” he said.
