A judge has dismissed a m8rder charge against a man awaiting trial for k!lling his 13-year-old daughter’s alleged r@pist in Arkansas, United States.
The case against Aaron Spencer was tossed by the judge on Thursday, June 4, 2026 weeks before he was set to face a jury on a second-degree m8rder charge.
Spencer won the GOP nomination for sheriff and will be on the November ballot.
He won a March primary over the local three-term sheriff whose office had arrested him in Lonoke County.
Spencer’s attorneys do not deny that he shot and k!lled 67-year-old Michael Fosler in 2024, saying he did so to protect his child.
Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. granted a motion by Spencer’s attorney to dismiss the charge over a dash camera memory card that may have captured the shooting and was lost by law enforcement.
“The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” Wilson wrote.
At the time of the shooting, Fosler, was out on bond after being charged with dozens of s3xual offenses against Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.
Court documents show on the night of the shooting, Spencer had woken up to find his daughter missing, and later found the girl in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving.
Spencer forced Fosler’s truck off the road and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man.
Prosecutors said Spencer planned the k!lling and that he could have called police while pursuing Fosler.
But Spencer pleaded not guilty and maintained he acted to protect his child from a predator.
Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said she is thankful for the court’s decision.
“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 said he is grateful this chapter is over and that his focus is now on his family and returning to normal life.
“There’s still work to do in Lonoke County, and I’m more committed to it than ever,” he said in a statement.
“Together we can build a safer and stronger Lonoke County.”
Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham did not return messages Thursday seeking comment on the decision.
Spencer has made his daughter’s experience with the criminal justice system a central part of his campaign for sheriff, pledging to establish a dedicated team to combat s3x crimes against children.
Spencer’s attorneys filed the motion seeking to have the case dismissed, contending that video and audio of the dash camera from Fosler’s truck may have contained evidence that would have cleared Spencer of any wrongdoing.
According to court records, a detective with the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office removed the dash camera from the truck when responding to the scene of the shooting.
But the camera’s internal settings were not preserved and the battery of the camera was allowed to drain, and as a result the camera went back to its default settings.
When the camera was sent to the attorney general’s office for a forensic exam, the memory card that was in it when it was collected from the truck was missing.
The detective who collected the camera later admitted that it was not logged into evidence right away, but was instead stored in his personal office rather than the evidence room, according to court records.
Wilson replaced the original judge handling the m8rder case in January after the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Judge Barbara Elmore from the case, finding she had issued an overly broad gag order that violated Spencer’s First Amendment right.