Judge Dismisses Murder Charge Against Arkansas Sheriff Nominee Over Lost Dash-Cam Card in 2024 Shooting
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jun 5
Judge Dismisses Murder Charge Against Arkansas Sheriff Nominee Over Lost Dash-Cam Card in 2024 Shooting
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jun 5
Summary
Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. threw out Aaron Spencer’s second-degree murder case weeks before trial, ruling law enforcement’s handling of potential dash-camera evidence was so egregious that dismissal was warranted.
Court records show a detective removed the camera from Michael Fosler’s truck, failed to preserve its settings, let the battery drain and did not promptly log it into evidence; the memory card later went missing.
Spencer’s lawyers argued the video and audio may have cleared him in the 2024 shooting of Fosler, 67, who was out on bond on dozens of sex-offense charges involving Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors had said Spencer planned the killing after forcing Fosler’s truck off the road, while Spencer pleaded not guilty and said he acted to protect his child.
The ruling lands after Spencer won the GOP sheriff nomination in March in Lonoke County, population about 76,000, over the incumbent whose office had arrested him.