Murder Charge Dismissed Against Arkansas Sheriff Nominee Aaron Spencer

A judge dropped the murder charge against Lonoke County sheriff nominee Aaron Spencer after evidence was lost by law enforcement. Spencer had shot his daughter's alleged abuser in 2024.

Arkansas Sheriff Nominee Cleared After Murder Charge Dismissed Over Lost Evidence

A judge in Lonoke, Arkansas, has dismissed a second-degree murder charge against Aaron Spencer, the Republican nominee for Lonoke County sheriff, NYT US News reports. The ruling came just weeks before the case was set to go to trial.

Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. threw out the charge Thursday after finding that a dash camera memory card — potentially capturing footage of the fatal shooting — had been lost by law enforcement. "The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted," Wilson wrote in his ruling.

Spencer was accused of shooting and killing Michael Fosler, 67, in 2024. Fosler was out on bond at the time, facing dozens of sexual offense charges involving Spencer's then-13-year-old daughter. Spencer's attorneys did not deny that he fired the fatal shot, but argued he acted to protect his child.

According to court documents, Spencer woke on the night of the shooting to find his daughter missing. He later located her in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving, forced the truck off the road, and after an altercation called 911 to report the shooting.

Prosecutors argued Spencer had planned the killing and could have contacted police while pursuing Fosler instead. Spencer pleaded not guilty throughout the proceedings and maintained he had no choice but to intervene to protect his daughter from a predator.

His attorney, Erin Cassinelli, welcomed the dismissal. "No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror," she said in a statement. "This father should have never been charged for protecting his child."

Spencer has made his daughter's ordeal with the criminal justice system a central element of his campaign for sheriff.

Source: NYT US News