Lawrence man pleads guilty to burglary, at which residents caught and held him by gunpoint until police arrived

photo by: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction

Chasmen Edward Foster

A Lawrence man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a residential burglary in which the tenants caught him in their home and held him at gunpoint until police arrived.

Chasmen Edward Foster, 35, was charged with one felony count of aggravated burglary and one felony count of burglary. The charges relate to an incident on June 22, 2022, in the 1000 block of Alabama Street, as the Journal-World reported.

On Wednesday, Foster pleaded guilty to the more severe aggravated burglary charge and, as part of a plea agreement, the state dismissed the lesser burglary charge along with another misdemeanor charge of domestic battery in connection with an incident in May 2024.

Senior Assistant District Attorney David Greenwald said that Foster was caught in the home wearing one of the victim’s shirts. Two residents found Foster in their basement and ordered him at gunpoint into the kitchen, where Foster remained in a crouched position until police arrived.

Greenwald said Foster later told police he had broken into the home in search of clothing and intended to steal a television.

Judge Stacey Donovan accepted Foster’s plea and advised him that with his criminal history he faces 12 to 14 years in prison.

Foster’s attorney, John DeMarco, asked the court to set the date for the sentencing hearing as far out as possible. He said he planned to file a motion for a sentencing departure, which, if granted, would place Foster on probation or reduce his prison sentence.

He said he would need the time to secure a long line of witnesses to testify at the hearing to Foster’s character and to demonstrate that he has reformed since the incident.

Foster is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26. He is currently free on a $5,000 bond.

According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, Foster was convicted in Marion County, Ohio, of one count of felony robbery and sentenced to two years in prison in February of 2021, and he was eligible for parole in November of 2021.