An Arkansas man is free on a $150,000 bond after he allegedly shot and killed a man who reportedly took his daughter from their home in the middle of the night on Tuesday morning. The decedent was charged earlier this year with the sexual assault of the 14-year-old girl the father rescued.
Breitbart Texas spoke with the Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Friday and learned that the decedent, Michael Fosler, was facing multiple charges related to the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Those charges include multiple counts of internet stalking of a child, sexual assault of a child, sexual indecency with a child, and 35 counts of possession of child pornography.
Sheriff’s office officials said they received the call of the missing child at 1:12 Tuesday morning, KARK reported. While on their way to the incident, deputies learned that the girl’s father, Aaron Spencer, found the girl in a car allegedly driven by Michael Fosler.
Officials say there was an altercation between the men, leading to Fosler being shot and killed. Fosler reportedly died at the scene.
Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley told Breitbart Texas that the teenage girl was not abducted from the parents’ home. He said that when Mr. Spencer found his daughter with Fosler, an altercation ensued that led to multiple shots being fired from a handgun belonging to Spencer.
The sheriff has taken a lot of heat because of what many believe was a reasonable action by Spencer in shooting Fosler.
“I’m a dad, too,” the sheriff told Breitbart. “I don’t know that I wouldn’t have done the same thing myself.”
The sheriff said when the deputies arrived at the scene of the shooting, they found a man dead on the ground. The deputies attempted to revive the man without success.
At the time, the deputies had no information about the decedent or the prior alleged sexual assault of this teenage girl.
“We have to investigate the details and confirm that Mr. Spencer’s story is true,” Staley said in the Breitbart interview. “We are not against Mr. Spencer — we just have to gather the facts. At this time, we have no reason to believe Mr. Spencer made any false statements.”
Detectives did not find that the decedent had any weapons.
The sheriff expects to wrap up the investigation soon and send the file to the prosecutor’s office for review. “It is up to the prosecutors to determine what, if any, charges will be filed.”
“It appears Mr. Spencer was a scared dad trying to protect his daughter,” Sheriff Staley concluded. “At the scene, Mr. Spencer did not know that his daughter had not been abducted.”
“Under the law, we have to conduct the investigation and pass that evidence, including exculpatory evidence, along to the prosecutors.”
A spokesman for the prosecuting attorney’s office said a preliminary background check revealed no criminal history for Aaron Spencer. Sheriff Staley said he found the same lack of criminal history.
Spencer’s wife posted additional information about the case on her Facebook page.
Sheriff Staley said he understands the frustration of the families involved and members of the public. While he told Breitbart he believes he might have done the same thing as Spencer, he would expect to be investigated similarly. The sheriff added that he had met Mr. Spencer long before this incident and found him to be very nice.
The sheriff also said he strongly supports the Second Amendment, open carry, and the right of self-defense and defense of a third party.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
