A candidate for sheriff in Arkansas who shot and killed a man who had been charged with sexually assaulting his 13-year-old daughter lost his bid for office on Tuesday.
The candidate, Aaron Spencer, had won the Republican nomination after being charged with murder in the 2024 fatal shooting of Michael Fosler, 67, who at the time was out on bond while facing a series of felony charges, including sexual assaulting Mr. Spencer’s daughter.
Mr. Spencer, a farmer and contractor, had admitted to shooting the man but pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, saying he had shot Mr. Fosler while the man had the 13-year-old in his car and was trying to stop her from getting out.
Prosecutors contended that Mr. Spencer had planned the shooting and could have called the police instead.
Mr. Fosler had not entered a plea before he was killed, according to court records.
The murder charge was dropped in June after a judge found that police detectives — ones working for the same office Mr. Spencer ultimately sought to lead — had lost dashboard camera footage that might have captured the shooting and could have aided Mr. Spencer’s defense.
Mr. Spencer captured nearly 45 percent of the vote for sheriff on Tuesday in Lonoke County, Ark., east of Little Rock, but was defeated by Larry Behnke, an independent, according to election officials. About 22,000 votes were cast in the race.
In the earlier primary, Mr. Spencer had ousted the sitting sheriff, who had been in office for more than a decade and whose deputies had arrested Mr. Spencer.
“The voters of Lonoke County have made their decision, and I respect it,” Mr. Spencer wrote on Facebook around midnight.
He asked everyone who supported his candidacy to give Mr. Behnke a “fair shot” and urged those newly involved in local government to continue participating.
“The sheriff answers to you,” he added, “no matter who holds the job.”
Emily Cochrane and Pooja Salhotra contributed reporting.
The post Candidate Once Charged With Murder Loses Bid for Sheriff in Arkansas appeared first on New York Times.
