Man Fails to Appear at Court in Umpire Case

An arrest warrant was issued for a Garden Grove man who failed to show up for a pretrial conference Friday on a charge that he assaulted a Little League umpire during a game last June.

Municipal Judge Floyd Schenk said he issued the $1,500 bench warrant when Robert E. Foster, 40, failed to appear at a mandatory settlement conference. Foster faces a contempt of court charge for not appearing, a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

Foster couldn’t be reached for comment Friday night.

Sixteen-year-old umpire Christopher J. Ellson alleges that Foster attacked him on the field during a game at Edison High School in Huntington Beach on June 15, punching him several times. Ellson said Foster and his wife, Diane, became verbally abusive after he made two calls unfavorable to the A’s, a team that included Foster’s 15-year-old son, Bobby.

After twice asking Foster to quiet down, Ellson told police, he asked him to leave the area and the fight ensued.

Foster, who faces charges of assault and battery and disturbing the peace, says Ellson told him to “shut up” several times while he was cheering for his son’s team and then made a remark about his wife’s “Spanish heritage.” He admitted going onto the field but denies having struck the young umpire.

Instead, Foster said, he merely raised his left hand to protect himself when Ellson made a swinging motion at him with his right arm, which was in a cast from an earlier accident.