Overview
- The dismissal was issued Thursday, June 4, 2026, after Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. found that a dash‑camera SD card that may have recorded the October 2024 shooting went missing while in Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office custody.
- Republican sheriff nominee Aaron Spencer had admitted to shooting Michael Fosler but pleaded not guilty, saying he acted to protect his then‑13‑year‑old daughter from a man who had been charged with dozens of sexual offenses and was out on bond.
- The judge called law enforcement’s conduct ‘so egregious’ that losing the SD card and failing to preserve or document the evidence violated Spencer’s due‑process rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
- Prosecutors had argued Spencer planned the killing and could have contacted police instead of pursuing Fosler; the ruling stops the scheduled June trial unless prosecutors successfully appeal or refile charges.
- The ruling clears Spencer to continue his campaign for Lonoke County sheriff and raises immediate questions about evidence‑handling rules, internal accountability at the sheriff’s office, and how courts should remedy lost potentially exculpatory material.