49ers linebacker Reuben Foster charged with felony domestic violence

Reuben Foster, the 49ers’ inside linebacker, was charged Thursday by the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office with felony domestic violence and could face 11 years in prison after being arrested nearly two months ago in Los Gatos, authorities said.

Officers took Foster, 24, into custody Feb. 11 after a domestic dispute involving a woman with whom he was in a relationship. He allegedly left her bruised and with a ruptured ear drum, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Foster’s arraignment will be held 1:30 p.m. Thursday, just ahead of the start of the 49ers’ offseason program next Monday.

He is also being charged for inflicting great bodily injury, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime and possession of an assault weapon — all felonies.

If convicted, Foster will face 11 years in prison.

The 49ers released a brief statement Thursday morning regarding the charges, noting that they are “aware of today’s disturbing charges.” CEO Jed York has said he will ultimately make the call on Foster’s status with the team.

“We will continue to follow this serious matter,” the 49ers said. “Reuben is aware that his place in our organization is under great scrutiny and will depend on what is learned through the legal process.”

The night of the incident, the victim flagged down a stranger’s car on Shannon Road in Los Gatos and asked them to call 911, according to the district attorney’s office.

She reportedly told sheriff’s deputies and Los Gatos police that Foster dragged her by the hair, physically threw her out of the house and punched her in the head nearly 10 times.

The victim, who was not identified, was transported to the hospital where she was treated for her injuries and released.

Authorities searched Foster’s home and discovered a Sig Sauer 516, an assault rifle, and a large capacity magazine — both of which are illegal to possess in California, the district attorney’s office said.

“Our focus is on holding accountable those who hurt their intimate partners,” prosecutor Kevin Smith said. “Our Office handles between four and five thousand domestic violence cases each year. We only hope that this case illuminates the tragic regularity of the rest.”

The incident was Foster’s second arrest within a month. He was taken into custody on Jan. 12 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for second-degree marijuana possession, a designation for personal use, and a Class A misdemeanor in the state.

In 2017, Foster failed a drug test at the NFL combine for submitting a diluted urine sample. He was kicked out of the NFL combine in early March after an altercation with a hospital employee.

Foster could face discipline from the NFL, which gives players a six-game suspension for a first incident under its domestic-violence policy. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote in an email that the league is monitoring the charges against Foster.

“We continue to monitor all developments in this matter which is under review of the personal conduct policy,” McCarthy wrote.

After remaining relatively quiet over Foster’s arrest, General Manager John Lynch addressed the issue at the NFL combine on Feb. 28 in Indianapolis.

“With this, we’ve been a little quiet. And that’s for a reason. There are places I can’t and won’t go,” said Lynch, who added: “We’re actively following the protocols that are already in place with both law enforcement and the NFL.”

Lynch selected Foster with the 31st overall pick and said he was prepared to take him third overall if the 49ers’ first selection, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, hadn’t been available.

“If you remember at this time last year, there was a lot of discussion about Reuben,” Lynch said in February. “One thing we knew was we were going to have to put great structure around him. One lesson I learned, it’s probably a lot easier to do that in the college environment than in the NFL. These guys have to be men. We take the approach that we’re going to equip them with every resource that we can.”

Before Foster was charged Thursday, the 49ers’ wait-and-see approach to his arrest had been compared with the swift action they took last April when they released cornerback Tramaine Brock a day after he was arrested and accused of trying to strangle his girlfriend multiple times. The charges were dropped a month later because of insufficient evidence.

Lynch said he was aware of the criticism he’d taken for releasing Brock, a player he inherited, but retaining Foster, his second draft pick as general manager.

“I said then and I’ll say now, I think our approach is that each one of these situations is unique and different,” Lynch said. “Listen, I know there’s a lot of conjecture as to, ‘Well, of course, Brock wasn’t the player that Reuben is.’ I would counter and say that he was a starting cornerback for us. And we didn’t take that lightly.”

Lynch also said he and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had spoken with Foster this offseason about “just our expectations for him, and our expectations for all our players. We have a high standard, that we have high expectations for our players.”

49ers defensive back Jaquiski Tartt was one of the few people on Thursday to offer words of support for Foster. He wrote on Twitter, “Prayers to my brother @ferarrifoster love you bro!!”

Foster, the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month for November, ranked second on the team in tackles (72) last season. The award came after he missed five games with a high ankle sprain and another because of back spasms.

The charges filed Thursday leave the 49ers with uncertainty at middle linebacker. Foster was expected to start alongside Malcolm Smith, who is returning from a pectoral injury.

Brock Coyle, who recently signed a three-year deal, could step in as a starter, though he is returning from surgery to repair a torn labrum. Veteran linebacker Korey Toomer signed with the team last week.

The 49ers could now be more inclined to target a linebacker with their first selection in the draft later this month. Middle linebackers Tremaine Edmunds, of Virginia Tech, and Roquan Smith, of Georgia, are both expected to be taken in the early-to-mid first round. The 49ers have the ninth overall pick.

A 49ers spokesman on Thursday said it’s unclear if Foster will be present for the team’s offseason program, which starts Monday.

Sarah Ravani, Eric Branch and Matt Kawahara are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @SarRavani, @Eric_Branch, @MatthewKawahara