Campaign signs for the three Republican candidates for Lonoke County sheriff are on display outside the Cabot Public Library polling place on March 3, 2026. | Arkansas Advocate photo by Tess Vrbin
By ANDREW DeMILLO | Arkansas Advocate
A second degree murder case was dismissed against the Arkansas man who won the Republican nomination for Lonoke County sheriff as he awaited trial on the charge he killed his daughter’s accused sexual abuser.
Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. cited violations of Aaron Spencer’s due process rights in his 19-page ruling dismissing the charge against Spencer. Wilson cited investigators’ handling of a dash camera and memory card that had gone missing.
Wilson acknowledged the dismissal was an “extraordinary and extreme remedy.”
“However, based on the totality of the circumstances and the unique, specific, and particular facts and circumstances of the case, the court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” he wrote.
Spencer said he was grateful for the ruling and the support he had received in the community.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
The Lonoke County prosecutor’s office did not immediately return messages seeking comment Thursday afternoon.
Spencer won more than 53% of the vote in March’s three-person Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff. Spencer will face Democratic nominee Brian Mitchell Sr. this fall.
Spencer had been charged with second degree murder in the 2024 death of a man accused of sexually abusing Spencer’s teenage daughter. Spencer’s trial was originally scheduled for January but had been postponed. If Spencer had been convicted of the felony charge, he’d be unable to serve as sheriff. Spencer fatally shot Michael Fosler after finding his daughter with him in Fosler’s truck, according to court records.
Wilson’s ruling found that investigators did not follow procedures in their handling of the camera and memory from Fosler’s truck. Wilson said the loss of the evidence impaired Spencer’s right to a fair trial.
“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,” Erin Cassinelli, Spencer’s attorney, said in a statement. “This father should have never been charged for protecting his child.”
The Arkansas Supreme Court in January removed the judge hearing Spencer’s case and rescinded an order she had issued that would have restricted the public’s access to Spencer’s trial. A new date for Spencer’s trial has not been scheduled yet. It was the second time the court had intervened in the case after the judge had issued a gag order that justices withdrew last year.
Spencer has run on promises to protect children from sexual violence, calling for the creation of an investigative unit dedicated to child sexual abuse, grooming and domestic violence.
The sheriff’s race had attracted national attention and drew more interest from voters in the rural central Arkansas county more than other federal and statewide matchups.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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