Spencer’s win in the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff puts him on track for the November general election, but it also places him in the middle of an ongoing murder prosecution stemming from the October 2024 killing of Michael Fosler, 67. Unofficial results posted by the Arkansas secretary of state showed Spencer beating incumbent Sheriff John Staley, and Spencer will face Democrat Brian Mitchell Sr. in November, according to the report.
In a statement posted after the primary, Staley said, “Congratulations to Mr. Spencer. Tonight the voters made their decision in the Republican Primary, and I respect the decision,” according to the Associated Press. Spencer, for his part, said his campaign message about transparency and accountability resonated with voters, and he argued that the issue was not about him personally. “Tonight, the people of Lonoke County stood up and chose transparency and accountability,” Spencer said, adding, “This wasn’t a campaign about me. It was about every family who called for help and got nothing. That betrayal ends tonight.”
Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said in an email to The Associated Press that the election results have no bearing on the facts of the case. Cassinelli wrote, “Aaron Spencer did exactly what the law allows and exactly what any father would do: he protected his daughter and himself from harm,” and she said, “At some point, those responsible for this prosecution will have to reckon with that.”
The prosecution’s allegations center on an October 2024 shooting. Court documents described Spencer waking up to find his daughter missing from her bedroom and going searching in his truck, the report said. Documents state that Spencer found the girl in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving, then forced Fosler’s truck off the highway and, after an altercation, called 911 to report that he had shot the man.
Prosecutors argue that Spencer had planned to kill Fosler even before that night and that Spencer could have called police while pursuing him. Spencer’s attorneys do not deny that he shot and killed Fosler, but they maintain that he acted within the law to protect his child from a predator. Spencer has pleaded not guilty and is out on bond while awaiting trial, and his trial date has been affected by a procedural turn in the case.
The report said the trial, originally scheduled to start in January, was delayed after the presiding judge was removed from the case, and that a new date has not been set. While the legal timeline remains unsettled, Spencer has also been signaling an agenda for the sheriff’s office, according to the report. Spencer pledged in a Facebook post last month that if elected he would establish a dedicated team to combat sex crimes against children.