News Photo by Temi Fadayomi Mitchell Foster walks to his seat at the 88th District Court.

ALPENA — A 33-year-old Alpena man will avoid jail time for a domestic violence charge.

Mitchell Foster pleaded guilty to one count of stalking and one count of domestic violence after an incident with his girlfriend at the time that took place last year. Foster was also charged with one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder but the charge was dismissed.

Before his sentencing, Foster’s attorney Daniel White read portions of an affidavit written by the victim that involved her claiming that she wasn’t “in the right mindset when talking to police” and that her claims were “severely exaggerated.”

After White spoke, the victim also took the stating that her affidavit wasn’t really written under truthful pretenses, claiming she was led to frame the incident the way she did to recover her relationship with Foster.

“I wrote that affidavit under the pretenses of trying to salvage my relationship with Mitchell,” the victim said. “The affidavit wasn’t fully written under truthful pretenses because I was being led to do it to salvage my relationship with him.”

The 88th District Court Judge Alan Curtis went with the sentence recommended by the presentence investigation which allows Foster to avoid jail time if he can successfully complete a domestic violence program.

On March 18, Foster pleaded guilty to one count of domestic violence, one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of intimidating a witness for an incident that took place on Dec. 9, 2023.

During the altercation, Foster pushed his then-girlfriend and eventually placed her in a chokehold.

After being arrested and housed in the Alpena County jail for that incident, Foster sent the victim a letter that insisted that she testify that he was acting in self-defense.