Weeks before Aaron Spencer’s murder trial, the charge was dismissed after discovering that law enforcement had lost video evidence of the incident.

The murder charge against Aaron Spencer was dismissed by Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. on Thursday, June 4.

Wilson dismissed the case after it was found that law enforcement lost a dash camera memory card that may have captured the shooting.

Spencer, 37, was expected to head to trial in the coming weeks for the second-degree murder charge in connection with the October 2024 death of Michael Fosler. Spencer pleaded not guilty and maintained he acted to protect his child from a predator, according to the court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Fosler allegedly sexually assaulted Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter between June and July 2024. In September of that year, he was charged with dozens of sexual offenses against Spencer’s daughter.

At the time of his October 2024 death, Fosler, 67, was out on bond after being charged. He was fatally shot on Oct. 8, 2024.

Aaron Spencer.Facebook/Aaron Spencer for Lonoke County Sheriff

The night of the shooting, Spencer woke up and realized his daughter was missing. He located Fosler driving with his daughter in the passenger seat. He then drove Fosler off the highway, and once Fosler exited his vehicle, Spencer shot at Fosler.

He then got a hold of his daughter, brought her to the safety of his car, and reloaded his gun before calling 911. During the call, he reported that he had shot the man.

However, it was uncovered in April 2026 that a Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office detective lost the video evidence that may have captured the shooting.

The defense argued that the officer who did not document the memory card existence aligns with the “bad faith” argument: “1) efforts to conceal the existence of exculpatory information, its contents, or its destruction; 2) failing to adhere to rules and professional obligations; 3) deliberately omitting mention of evidence or omitting information from reports; and 4) failure to submit an item of evidence, denying its existence, failing to timely alert others to destruction of evidence, or misleading as to the circumstances,” according to the court documents obtained by PEOPLE.

Additionally, the missing evidence has “apparent” exculpatory value, and there is no comparable evidence obtainable by “any other reasonable means.”

As a result, Judge Wilson called for the dismissal as an “extraordinary and extreme remedy.”

“However, based on the totality of the circumstances and the unique, specific, and particular facts and circumstances of this case, the Court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” the dismissal read.

Months before the dismissal, Spencer announced he would run for the position of Lonoke County sheriff.

“I’m the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed,” Spencer said in the Facebook announcement. “And through my own fight for justice, I have seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court. I refuse to stand by while others face these same failures.”

Then on March 3, he secured 53.5% of the vote in the Republican primary. He will face Democratic primary winner Brian Mitchell Sr. in the fall general election, according to the Arkansas Advocate.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

SOURCE: https://people.com/judge-dismisses-murder-charge-against-arkansas-father-aaron-spencer-11991724