FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ) — The fate of former Fresno Deputy Police Chief Keith Foster, on trial for conspiring to distribute marijuana, heroin, and oxycodone, is now in the hands of the 12 member jury.
Deliberations got underway Friday morning, after a rebuttal from the prosecution, which followed an entire day of closing arguments.
The government argued that “we’re not here to talk about what Foster did in uniform,” during his 30 years in law enforcement, but rather the illicit activities in which he’s accused of engaging “out of uniform.”
The defense closed with an appeal to jury members to “put themselves in Foster’s shoes.”
A dramatic turn came earlier in the week when several former colleagues, including Chief Jerry Dyer, contradicted the claim by defense attorney Marshall Hodgikins, that Foster was “deep undercover.”
Foster himself disputed that notion, calling it quote “absurd.”
However, Hodgkins told the jury in his closing statement that his claim is irrelevant, as evidence comes not from the attorneys, but from witnesses.
Court resumes Tuesday morning.
If found guilty, Foster faces several decades in prison.
