Preliminary trial for 49ers' Reuben Foster set for May 17

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster on Tuesday entered a plea of not guilty to three felony charges, including domestic violence, stemming from an incident involving his former girlfriend on Feb. 11.

The preliminary hearing, which a judge uses to determine if a case goes to jury trial, is set for May 17.

There's another hearing set for Friday in Foster's case which relates to a subpoena for evidence. Foster has been excused from having to appear Friday, and that hearing may not take place at all if evidence is supplied to both sides before then.

Foster is facing charges for domestic violence, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime and possessing an assault weapon -- all of which are classified as felonies.

Those charges were filed on April 12. The Santa Clara County District Attorney's office initial accounting of the events of Feb. 11 alleged that Foster dragged Elissa Ennis -- his former girlfriend -- by her hair, punched her in the head eight to 10 times and physically removed her from the house. From there, the district attorney's office said, Ennis flagged down a passing car outside a Los Gatos home. Ennis' injuries included a ruptured eardrum, which required a visit to the hospital.

Last month, Ennis recanted domestic violence allegations against Foster and said she had video of herself in an altercation with another woman; Ennis said in a statement that she sustained her injuries, which resulted in a hospital visit, during that altercation. That video was given to the district attorney's office.