An Arkansas sheriff candidate who killed a man who’d allegedly sexually assaulted his 13-year-old daughter has won his criminal court case.
Sheriff candidate Aaron Spencer, who won the GOP nomination for sheriff while waiting to go on trial for killing Michael Fosler, 67, watched Thursday as Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. dismissed the entire criminal case against him just weeks before his trial was to begin.
In dismissing the case, Wilson “cited missing evidence and misconduct by law enforcement,” according to CNN.
“The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” Wilson wrote in his ruling.
According to CBS News, the missing evidence was “a dash camera memory card that may have captured the shooting,” but was accidentally lost by law enforcement.
Arkansas Judge Has Officially Dismissed The Case Against Aaron Spencer. Aaron Spencer took the life of his daughter predator after finding him in the vehicle with his daughter #Breaking pic.twitter.com/SBko3t02Ys
— LRHN cash (@LRHN_Cash) June 4, 2026
Spencer’s attorneys had argued that the case deserved to be dismissed because the missing audio/video footage contained evidence that would have fully cleared their client of all wrongdoing.
The case stems from what happened on Oct. 8, 2024, when Spencer woke up in the middle of the night to find his daughter missing.
He “later found the girl in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving,” according to CBS. “Spencer forced Fosler’s truck off the road and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man.”
At the time of the shooting, Fosler was reportedly out on bond after having been charged with dozens of sexual offenses, all of which had allegedly been committed against Spencer’s daughter.
Despite this, prosecutors alleged that Spencer had planned the killing and that he could have easily called the police while pursuing Fosler’s car. Spencer fired back by pleading not guilty and arguing that he’d acted to protect his daughter.
Spencer, on Thursday, celebrated his case being dismissed by thanking his local community for all their support.
“Neighbors here in Lonoke County, people from every part of Arkansas, and folks I’ve never met from around the world reached out, prayed for us, and refused to stay quiet,” he said. “When I couldn’t speak for myself, you spoke for me. I’ll never be able to thank you the way you deserve, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to live up to it.”
His attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said in a statement that her client should never have been charged in the first place.
“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,” she said. “This father should have never been charged for protecting his child.”
When Spencer announced his campaign for sheriff last week against the very incumbent sheriff whose deputies had arrested him, he cited his case:
BREAKING – An Arkansas father who killed his 14-year-old daughter’s rapist, Aaron Spencer, has won the Republican primary for sheriff in Lonoke County, the same department that arrested him, saying the legal system failed his family and that he will restore trust in the county. pic.twitter.com/DLfXQiaHtW
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) March 4, 2026
“I’m the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed,” he said in the campaign ad above. “I’m also a husband, a combat veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, a contractor, and a farmer. And through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court, and I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures. ”
“That’s why I’m announcing my candidacy to run for Lonoke County Sheriff. This campaign isn’t about me. It’s about every parent, every neighbor, every family who deserves to feel safe in their homes and safe in their community. It’s about restoring trust where neighbors know law enforcement is on their side and families know that they will not be left alone in a moment of need,” he added.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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