Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Aaron Spencer, the Republican nominee for Lonoke County (Arkansas) sheriff in June 2026, fatally shot Michael Fosler on October 2024 while rescuing his daughter, who was 14 at the time. Fosler had been arrested months earlier on charges of abusing the girl.

Judge Ralph Wilson dismissed the murder case against Spencer on June 4, 2026, ruling that that Lonoke County sheriff’s deputies investigating the killing deprived Spencer of the right to a fair trial when they lost or destroyed an SD card from a dash camera that was in Fosler’s truck on Oct. 8, 2024.

Spencer and his attorney, Erin Cassinelli, talk with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Grant Lancaster after the ruling.

Reported by: Grant Lancaster/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Produced by: Faye Hedera/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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