Office of the United States Attorney

Eastern District of California

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: LAUREN HORWOOD
Tuesday, May 23, 2017 PHONE: 916-554-2706
www.justice.gov/edca usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1:15-cr-104 AWI
FORMER DEPUTY POLICE CHIEF FOUND GUILTY OF CONSPIRING TO DISTRIBUTE
HEROIN AND MARIJUANA

FRESNO, Calif. A federal jury in Fresno today found former Fresno deputy police chief
Keith Foster, 53, guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and
conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, U.S. Attorney Phillip A.
Talbert announced.

U.S. Attorney Talbert stated: When a police officer misuses his official position to commit
crimes for personal profit, it is the ultimate betrayal of public trust. The betrayal is only
compounded when the officer involved is in a leadership position in the police department. By
conspiring with others to traffic heroin and marijuana, Keith Foster not only disgraced the office he
held, he put the community he was sworn to protect in danger. Although the jury was not able to
reach verdicts on the additional counts relating to Fosters alleged involvement in trafficking
oxycodone, we are grateful for their hard work and the guilty verdicts they returned. My office is
committed to rooting out corruption and prosecuting those who use their official position to commit
crimes that endanger the community. We are proud to have worked alongside the ATF and FBI,
with the full cooperation of the Fresno Police Department, in bringing Foster to justice.

The actions of Keith Foster and his co-defendants in this case jeopardized public safety
and violated the trust of the citizens of Fresno he swore to protect, said Special Agent in Charge
Jill A. Snyder, San Francisco Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives. During this investigation, ATF and FBI agents followed evidence of a drug trafficking
conspiracy. That evidence led directly to the former deputy police chief of Fresno. Fosters criminal
activity will not deter ATFs ongoing partnership with the Fresno Police Department to fight
violent crime in the City of Fresno.

The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners, investigating
any allegation of criminal activity within the law enforcement community. The community must be
served by those who obey the laws they are sworn to uphold and fulfill the oath of office, said
Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller of the FBIs Sacramento field office. Public trust is
essential to the success of the work that men and women in law enforcement do daily. Fosters
illegal acts have negatively impacted public perception of the men and women of the Fresno Police
Department who proudly put their lives on the line every day to serve the Fresno community.

According to evidence presented at trial, between July 19, 2014, and March 26, 2015, Keith
Foster conspired with his nephew Iran Dennis Denny Foster, 46, of Fresno, to obtain marijuana
from Ricky Reynolds, 50, of Shasta Lake. Denny Foster regularly traveled to Reynolds residence
to purchase marijuana. On one of these trips, Denny Foster was stopped by the California Highway
Patrol in Merced County and arrested for possessing six pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car.
When he was arrested, his passenger called Keith Foster and Foster said that he could have
provided cover for Denny Foster if he had known about the trip ahead of time. He also said he
would call his narc guys.

Also according to evidence presented at trial, between December 23, 2014, and February 2,
2015, Foster conspired with co-defendant Rafael Guzman, 43, of Fresno, to obtain heroin for
another person.

Keith Foster resigned from his position on April 3, 2015, one week after his arrest.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Melanie
L. Alsworth and Dawrence W. Rice Jr. are prosecuting the case.

Six others pleaded guilty before trial to various offenses related to the drug trafficking
conspiracy. Randy Flowers and Denny Foster are scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2017.
Ricky Reynolds is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11, 2017. On October 11, 2016, Rafael
Guzman, 43, of Fresno was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
Jennifer Donabedian, 37, of Fresno, pleaded guilty to concealing a felony and served 12 months
probation. Sarah Ybarra, 39, of Fresno, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and
served one year in prison.

Keith Foster is scheduled to be sentenced on October 10, 2017, by U.S. District Judge
Anthony W. Ishii. Foster faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million
fine for the count relating to heroin, and a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for
the marijuana trafficking offense. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the
discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal
Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

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