{"id":1715,"date":"2026-06-05T09:33:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1715"},"modified":"2026-06-05T09:33:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:33:52","slug":"murder-charge-dropped-for-arkansas-sheriff-nominee-who-killed-daughters-alleged-abuser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1715","title":{"rendered":"Murder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed daughter\u2019s alleged abuser"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A judge on Thursday dismissed a murder charge against an Arkansas man who won the GOP nomination for sheriff while awaiting trial for the shooting death of his teenage daughter’s alleged abuser.<\/p>\n

Read more Trio of star-studded World Cup opening ceremonies in US, Canada and Mexico aim to showcase unity<\/a><\/p>\n

The ruling came weeks before Aaron Spencer, who will be on the November ballot, had been set to face a jury on a second-degree murder charge. He won a March primary over the local three-term sheriff whose office had arrested Spencer in Lonoke County, which has roughly 76,000 residents and is heavily Republican.<\/p>\n

Spencer\u2019s attorneys do not deny that he shot and killed 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,\u201d Wilson wrote.<\/p>\n

At the time of the shooting, Fosler, 67, was out on bond after being charged with dozens of sexual offenses against Spencer\u2019s then-13-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s truck off the road and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Spencer planned the killing 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.<\/p>\n

Spencer\u2019s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said she is thankful for the court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cThis father should have never been charged for protecting his child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Big Pine Key man threatens rape during arrest for child neglect, DUI, cops say<\/a><\/p>\n

Spencer said he is grateful this chapter is over and that his focus is now on his family and returning to normal life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still work to do in Lonoke County, and I\u2019m more committed to it than ever,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cTogether we can build a safer and stronger Lonoke County.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham did not return messages Thursday seeking comment on the decision.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press typically does not identify sex abuse victims, but Spencer has made his daughter\u2019s experience with the criminal justice system a central part of his campaign for sheriff, pledging to establish a dedicated team to combat sex crimes against children.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Wilson replaced the original judge handling the murder 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 rights.<\/p>\n

\u2014-<\/p>\n

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.<\/p>\n

Read more Man facing attempted murder charges for shooting outside popular Boca Raton restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A judge on Thursday dismissed a murder charge against an Arkansas man who won the GOP nomination for sheriff while awaiting trial for the shooting death of his teenage daughter’s alleged abuser.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMurder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed daughter\u2019s alleged abuser - South Florida Moving Guides<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southfloridamovingguides.com\/?p=1715\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Murder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed daughter\u2019s alleged abuser - 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