Man Awaiting Murder Trial Wins GOP Primary for Sheriff

UPDATE Mar 4, 2026 11:58 AM CST

Arkansas man Aaron Spencer won the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff on Tuesday. Whether he becomes sheriff will depend on the outcome of the November election, and on the outcome of his murder trial. Spencer, who defeated the incumbent sheriff and another challenger on Tuesday, has been charged with killing a man who allegedly abused his 13-year-old daughter. If he is convicted, he will be banned from holding elected office. Spencer easily won the primary with around 54% of more than 10,000 votes cast, the Arkansas Times reports. Sheriff John Staley, whose department arrested Spencer in 2024, came second with almost 27% of the vote.

Oct 17, 2025 3:05 PM CDT

An Arkansas father accused of killing his daughter's alleged abuser is running for sheriff while awaiting his murder trial, saying he has seen the failures of law enforcement in his rural county. Aaron Spencer, an Army veteran and farmer, announced his candidacy this month in Lonoke County a year after authorities say he shot and killed a man who had been out on bond after being charged with numerous sexual offenses against his underage daughter, the AP reports.

• Spencer has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and is out on bond while awaiting a trial set for early next year. His attorneys do not deny that their client shot and killed Michael Fosler, 67, but maintain he acted within the law to protect his child from a predator.

• The primary election in Arkansas is in March, with the general election in November 2026. He is not yet officially on the ballot since candidate filings begin next month. CNN reports that Spencer's trial is due to start Jan. 26, around six weeks before the primary.
• "Many of you know my story," Spencer said in a video announcing his candidacy. "I'm the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed. And through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court, and I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures."
• He says he will run as a Republican to replace Lonoke County's Republican Sheriff John Staley, whose department arrested Spencer in October 2024.

• Jennifer Hopper, who chairs the Lonoke County Republican Committee, says most people in the county of 76,000 residents don't seem to have a problem with Spencer's candidacy. "Not from what I've seen," Hopper says, adding that many people believe the shooting was justified.
• Arkansas Times reporter Matt Campbell says Spencer has "become a cause célèbre for a lot of folks in the state. If he beats the murder charge, which is entirely possible, I don't think it's a stretch that he could ride that momentum and win."
• On the night of the shooting in October 2024, Spencer woke up to find his 13-year-old daughter missing from her bedroom, left in his truck searching for her, and found her in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving, court documents show. Spencer forced Fosler's truck off the highway and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man, records show.
• Fosler had been ordered not to contact the girl, CNN reports. He was on bail after being charged with 43 criminal counts, including internet stalking of a child, sexual assault, and sexual indecency with a child.
• Erin Cassinelli, Spencer's attorney, says the parents feared the girl was in grave danger, since she was the only witness to the sexual assault charges. She tells the AP that she believes it "will be apparent at trial" that Spencer was "justified under Arkansas law in taking action to protect his daughter and himself." She says she's not concerned about Spencer's decision to run for sheriff negatively affecting his trial. "I am thrilled that the citizens of Lonoke County will have a choice in this election," she says.