Judge dismisses murder case against Arkansas sheriff candidate Aaron Spencer

By Faith Karimi and Brynn Gingras, CNN

(CNN) — A judge on Thursday dismissed a second-degree murder charge against Aaron Spencer, the Arkansas sheriff candidate who was scheduled to go on trial this month for killing a man accused of sexually assaulting his teenage daughter.

In the order dismissing the case, Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. cited missing evidence and misconduct by law enforcement, saying it “was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted.”

Spencer admitted to gunning down Michael Fosler in the early hours of October 8, 2024, after he found him with his daughter after midnight despite a no-contact order. Fosler, 67, was out on bond while facing dozens of charges, including internet stalking of a child and sexual assault in connection with Spencer’s daughter, who was 13 at the time.

In February, Spencer won the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff, saying he’s running to fix a justice system that failed to protect his daughter.

Spencer had admitted to the killing but pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. His trial was expected to start June 22.

The teen had vanished from her bedroom earlier that October night. Spencer said he jumped into his Ford truck and searched the roads around their home until he spotted her in Fosler’s truck, rammed the vehicle off the road and shot him during an altercation.

“I did what any good father would do — just save and protect their child,” he told CNN in February.

CNN has reached out to Spencer for comment.

Spencer’s attorney has said that he and his wife feared their daughter was in grave danger when she left their house with Fosler that night. She was the only witness to the sexual assault charges against Fosler, whose trial was set to begin three months later.

“At that time, she was the only thing standing between him and life in prison,” said Erin Cassinelli, the defense attorney.

One key issue in the case was a missing SD memory card from the dash camera in Fosler’s vehicle. Spencer’s attorney argued it contained evidence that would shed light on what happened that night, and had sought to have the case dismissed over its disappearance.

Judge Wilson seemed to agree, finding in his ruling that a detective mishandled the evidence and failed to follow proper procedure.

“The Court acknowledges that dismissal is an extraordinary and extreme remedy. However, based on the totality of the circumstances and the unique, specific, and particular facts and circumstances of this case, the Court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” Wilson wrote in his dismissal order.

In February, Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley told CNN that the memory card disappeared while in custody of the Attorney General’s forensics unit.

“The detective reviewed it and didn’t see anything of evidentiary (nature) so he put it back in the camera … We don’t know what happened to the SD card. We certainly wish the SD card was there. I don’t know where that happened, and humans are humans,” he said.

When reached by CNN after the dismissal Thursday, Staley said he takes responsibility for the detective’s failure to follow procedure and has terminated him.

“I believe in accountability. I can’t speak on what the judge said or his feelings,” he told CNN. “I can tell you that I agree he (the detective) didn’t do a decent job, and ultimately that falls on my shoulders as the sheriff.”

In an unexpected twist, Spencer announced last fall that he was running for sheriff against the incumbent whose deputies arrested him. Spencer, an Army veteran with no law enforcement experience, defeated Staley, a Republican who’d been in office for over 13 years.

Spencer’s prosecution sparked outrage on social media and prompted several petitions calling for the charges against him to be dropped, including one signed by more than 380,000 people. It also prompted conversations across Arkansas and beyond about a parent’s legal limits in protecting their child.

Thursday’s dismissal of the charges clears a path for Spencer to potentially become Lonoke County’s sheriff in November. As the Republican candidate, he’s well positioned in a county where Donald Trump received almost 76% of the vote in 2024.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.