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True Crime Garage
Aaron Spencer ////// 899
01:10:07
Husband and father, Aaron Spencer is currently facing trial in Lonoke County, Arkansas, for the 2024 shooting death of 67-year-old Michael Fosler.On October 8, 2024, Spencer reported his 14-year-old daughter missing. He scoured local roads and found her in Michael Fosler’s truck. Aaron Spencer forced Fosler’s vehicle off the road and fired 16 shots, 15 of which struck Fosler, killing him.
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- [00:01]
Nick
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- [00:13]
Captain
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- [00:15]
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- [01:55]
Nick
Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host Nick and with me, as always, is a man who knows that the scars are are just proof that we are alive. Here is the Captain.
- [02:09]
Captain
Yeah, it's good to be seen and good to see you. Thanks for listening. Thanks for telling a friend.
- [02:16]
Nick
Today we are drinking Back Seat Driver by the good folks over at Tap Station. Backseat Driver is a hazy ipa. It's crispy, it's hoppy, it's bitter, piny and full bodied with a hint of floral and citrus and ABV 6.3% garage grade three and three quarter bottle caps out of five. And let's give some thanks and praise to our good friends for helping us fill up the old garage fridge for this week. First up, a big cheers to Meg in Brighton, Michigan.
- [02:53]
Captain
And a big Wii like your jib goes out to Lisa from Italy.
- [02:56]
Nick
There's a double fisted cheers that goes out to John Laxon and Elizabeth Lange in Ely, Minnesota.
- [03:04]
Captain
And big talk, Hands in the air goes out to Miles in Henderson, Kentucky.
- [03:09]
Nick
And last but certainly not least, here Captain, we have another double cheers. This one going out to Trip and Hazel from Lawrence, Kansas. Everyone we just mentioned, they went to truecrimegarage.com donated to the beer fund, responded to the Colonel's email and for all of that we thank you.
- [03:33]
Captain
Yeah, BWR you and beer run. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast, make sure you tell a friend and Colonel, that's enough of business.
- [03:42]
Nick
All right, everybody, gather round. Grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk some true crime. When someone wounds a person you care about, it hits you in a place deeper than anger. It's a kind of quiet shaking, fury mixed with helplessness because the pain isn't just yours. And you wish that you could have protected them. You wish that you could rewind time and stand between them and whatever caused the harm. When trouble shows up on your doorstep, it rarely knocks politely. It comes in sideways in a sudden silence in the way that the air shifts before you even understand what's happening. There's a moment where the world feels smaller, like the walls are caving in and you're left deciding whether to embrace yourself or push back. But even in that first jolt, there's a steadiness that rises from somewhere deep, the part of you that knows you've weathered storms before. Trouble may arrive uninvited, but so does resolve. And it has a way of standing right beside you when you need it most. This is true crime Garage. And this is the case of Aaron Spencer.
- [05:44]
Captain
Foreign.
- [05:55]
Nick
This week we are heading down to Lone Oak. Spelled like Lanoke, but I believe it is pronounced like Lone Oak. This is Lone Oak county, located in central Arkansas. A little over 75,000 people are living and working there. The county seat is Lone Oak, and the largest city is Cabot. We will also be talking about Carlisle, Arkansas. Cabot, Lonoke and Carlisle are all extensions of the greater Little Rock area. For those of you outside of the state of Arkansas, Cabot is up Route 57. Lone Oak and Carlisle are out Route 40. Lonoke is an alcohol prohibited or dry county. So the fine folks of Lonoke county might not be joining us for a beer or two of the week here today, Captain. But whether or not any of those fine folks want to join us to raise a glass and bend an elbow in the privacy of their garage, that's up to them. But one thing that I know that we will be doing, that they will be doing, I should say in 2026, is voting for the sheriff election, which will take place in November of this year, with the primary sheriff's election taking place in March. So that would be March 3rd, 2026 to be exact. Now, of course, we do not live in Arkansas, and thus we do not have a dog in the fight, nor would we ever be here to try to sway you one way or the other. But we couldn't help but notice that this is a Rather unusual sheriff's election. The Democrat running is already determined, but we have three candidates to represent the Republican Party in November. So in March we have the incumbent, the current and standing sheriff. His name is John Staley who is running for re election. Staley was elected sheriff in 2012 and started his first term back in January 1st of 2013. He says it is an honor serving the citizens of Lone Oak county as their sheriff. Staley is married with three daughters. Also running as the potential Republican representative is David Bufford who has 30 years of law enforcement experience. And then we have Aaron Spencer who who is a proud airborne veteran. And he and his wife of several years are raising their two children in Lon Oak County. However, there is a major twist here, an M. Night Shyamalan sized twist. One of these candidates may be forced to drop out of the election as he faces murder charges, second degree murder charges. This week's true crime case research starts at the beginning of our timeline but runs up until and then through today. Actually as next week on Monday, January 26, Aaron Spencer, Sheriff candidate, will step foot in the Lone Oak County Courthouse for a jury trial where he is accused of and charged with murder. County prosecutors say that Aaron Spencer is guilty of second degree murder just like the captain said with an additional gun charge. Spencer's defense attorneys say that the charges are absurd and that Aaron Spencer was simply protecting his family. I'm sure that many of the residents of Lonoke are happy that they will not have to sit on this jury as some believe Aaron Spencer to be guilty of all charges and at the same time, many wondering why Spencer was even charged at all in the first place. County sheriff candidate Aaron Spencer is currently facing a charge of second degree murder from an October 2024 shooting death of a local man. His trial is scheduled to begin in January of 2026 and under Arkansas law, in fact, I would hope this would be the law everywhere here, Captain. A conviction would disqualify him from holding public office. It would also send him to prison. Now this case has gained national attention as Aaron Spencer argues his actions were a justified defense of his daughter.
- [10:34]
Captain
Yeah, but if it was me running, if I was Aaron, I'd say hey look, vote me in and even if I get convicted, that just means I'll have more time on my hands to devote to the citizens of this county.
- [10:48]
Nick
He may end up with a lot of time on his hands. And we talked about people having an opinion on this case, especially the good folks down there in Lono County. But as of December of last year of 2025, this case has prompted more than 195,000 people to sign a petition calling for Aaron Spencer to be absolved of all charges. Quickly here, let's introduce some of the folks at the center of this story. Aaron Spencer of Carlisle, Arkansas is 37 years old. He is a proud combat veteran. Aaron served in the 82nd Airborne Division. Thank you to all of our amazing men and women serving this country, past and present. He is also a contractor and farmer and a devoted husband and father who has spent his life serving others. He says that he grew up with the values that still guide him today, like faith, hard work, respect for the law and love of country. He joined the military to defend those values and carries the same courage and commitment into every part of his life after service. Aaron and his wife Heather. So she's an Arkansas native from Cabot. They've been married for 20 years. They're raising their two children in Lonoke County. Their family is grounded in traditional values, they say, honesty, integrity and responsibility to the community. Now that we've introduced you to the Spencer family, we are going to go back and kick off our timeline for this week's true crime story. Let's start it off July of 2024 here. Captain and I will summarize what went down in July as there was a lot of activity pertaining to this case. So Aaron and Heather Spencer are raising their kids at that time. One of their children is a 13 year old daughter. She's being homeschooled. Part of this was due to the fact that she was helping out. So the the entire family was taking care of a dying grandfather. She was able to take a break and spend some time with friends that the Spencers say were air quotes like family. And so she's going to be spending time with friends and the friend's parents. These are people that the Spencers trusted. This is where their daughter met a man named Michael Fossler, 67 years old. He is the boyfriend of a family friend and through meeting him at some point he starts grooming her via text messages. And it's believed that this started in April of 2024.
- [14:04]
Captain
Like you said, he's 67, she's 13.
- [14:07]
Nick
In July of 2024, her parents, the Spencers, were informed by a family member that their then 13 year old daughter, who's now 14, had confided that she had been raped. And immediately they sit down and they talk with their child asking what happened. And the little girl explained that this man who was a stranger to the Spencer family had assaulted her multiple times. This is going to set off a crazy domino effect, okay? So they sit down with their daughter, they learn this horrific accusations that their daughter, she says was violated, was raped, assaulted multiple times by the 67 year old man. So dad puts on his cape. July 8, 2024, he goes to an acquaintance. So he goes and he finds somebody who knows this Michael Fossler. And he's asking for Fossler's contact information. And he informs the person, he informs them of the alleged rape and assaults that took place on his minor daughter. So Aaron asked this person, hey, I want his contact information. Don't call the cops. In a bit of a roundabout way here, Captain. The, the acquaintance does inform the police. So law enforcement went to Aaron Spencer's home to speak with him. This is when his daughter reports the assaults to the lone Oak County Sheriff's office. The sheriff's office begins a rape investigation. During this encounter. Right when the, the law enforcement are there at the Spencer home, they recorded on body camera footage their interaction with the Spencer family. And in this interaction on camera footage, a deputy warned Aaron Spencer, quote, not to take the law into your own hands, end quote. Okay, so let's expand on this portion right here, Cappy, for context purposes. So on this day we have two Lonoke County Sheriff's officers that are visiting the Spencer's home to figure out what's going on. A transcript of that conversation which was recorded by one of the officer's body worn cameras is in the state filings for this case. And according to that transcript, Spencer, Aaron Spencer, asked the officers, what's going to happen to that man when you arrest him and prosecute him? And he says three to five, question mark. What? He's just rolling around, cruising and grooming. Spencer then asked one of the officers how he would feel if the same thing were to happen to his child.
- [17:12]
Captain
Right.
- [17:13]
Nick
To which that officer responded that something similar had happened.
- [17:16]
Captain
It's a very difficult situation because you obviously want to protect your daughter, you want to protect your family, but you need to let law enforcement do their job. And these situations are very difficult. I actually reach out to a detective friend of mine and he was saying that they'll actually do multiple interviews, sometimes with different officers, with the victim. Because one of the things that law enforcement has to figure out is how truthful is this kid being? Because kids could be making up a story or the parents are feeding the kid a story to give to law enforcement. So one of the things that law enforcement has to do is to figure out, okay, if we interview them multiple times, is the overall story lining up every time?
- [18:06]
Nick
Yes. And we usually don't get in the habit of throwing out warnings or trigger warnings or any of that. It's a true crime show, you know, what you signed up for. But there's.
- [18:19]
Captain
The victim's a kid, you know.
- [18:21]
Nick
Yeah, there's, there's. This is a sensitive, complex situation. And there's also some language that will be used in this episode off of going off of statements that have been made. And we're not going to shy away from that language. So Aaron Spencer, when he's talking to the officers now, he wants to know, right, what happened to the. The person, the offender that did something similar to one of your kids, right. And he's told, hey, look, that person was arrested, charged, convicted, he's now sitting in prison. That man responsible for that crime, we don't know the particulars of it, that man is in prison, according to this officer. To this, Aaron Spencer's response is, look, that he believes that that pedophile, that offender that they were just talking about sitting in prison and other child abusers still pose a danger to society, even when incarcerated, adding, quote, he's going to get back out, isn't he? He's going to go around and fuck more kids, okay? When an officer told Spencer, we still don't live in a country where you can take law into your own hands.
- [19:38]
Captain
Right?
- [19:38]
Nick
Spencer simply replied, bullshit.
- [19:42]
Captain
One of my problems with these pedophiles preying on children is I think you can make an argument whether they're tricking or coercing or physically moving the child to a location. I believe, I believe you could tack on a kidnapping charge. And, and I think if.
- [20:05]
Nick
I think so.
- [20:06]
Captain
I think if we did that more often in these cases, you're not looking at three to five. And I'm not saying that law enforcement should reassure Aaron Spencer of this, the father of the victim, but depending on where they get put in prison and depending on if they're found out by other inmates, that three to five years can be a torturous hell.
- [20:30]
Nick
By the end of this conversation, or at least where this transcript ends, it appears here that Aaron Spencer has calmed down. Right? We can hear that he's agitated, a bit aggressive, but at some point he seems to calm down. The officers reminding him that taking matters into his own hands will only ruin his daughter's life, potentially even more. He says, so what can we do then? Can you guys go get him? Can you put him in prison? What they do is Spencer's daughter. Aaron Spencer's daughter was interviewed at the Wade Knox Children's Advocacy center that same day. And the Lone Oak Sheriff's Department started their investigation. On July 11, 2024, that man, Michael Fossler, age 67, was arrested and charged. Listen to this. 43 counts. Arrested and charged with 43 counts, including sexual assault of a minor and Internet stalking. So the official offense date was listed as June 1, 2024. And all of the counts are as follows. Internet stalking of a child, which is in Arkansas, a class B felony. Two counts sexual assault, fourth degree, class D, two counts sexual indecency with a child, two counts electronic facilitation of child sexual abuse, two counts. Also several counts of pandering or possessing medium depicting sexual conduct with a child. Michael Fossler arrested, charged 43 counts. He's out on bond six days later on July 17th. So Fossler was released on a $50,000 bond, which means $5,000 paid. According to the USA Today, the family had a. No, the family being the Spencer family, had a no contact order in place with Fossler accusing him of stalking and raping their daughter over the summer. I've also seen some reports that state that he was issued a no contact order with a minor. So could mean any minor, any child at all.
- [23:09]
Captain
Yeah. So not only was he ordered not to contact the victim, not to contact any children, but he was also ordered to stay away from the Spencer family, the entirety of the family.
- [23:20]
Nick
And this is where I think most of us would think that outside of Michael Fossler waiting for a trial, standing trial, potentially getting convicted and then going away to prison, this is where most of us, I think, would believe that this story would end. But it's far from over. It's far from.
- [23:59]
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- [24:59]
Captain
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- [26:32]
Nick
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- [29:41]
Captain
All right, we are back. Cheers mates. Tall cans in the air.
- [29:45]
Nick
Tall cans in the air. In fact. Indeed, my friend, indeed. A little less than three months after Michael Fossler was arrested and then let out on bond, we get this next major portion. The biggest portion in our timeline here of this week's true crime story. And this takes place Captain on October 8, 2024. So at approximately 1:00am in the morning, Aaron Spencer says that he is awakened by his dog barking. So he's up he goes. He decides to go to his daughter's room to check on her. Now mind you, we had mentioned that The Spencers have two children. It's my understanding that their 13 year old daughter is the youngest of the two and the the older child is an adult or out of the house by by the time of this marker on our timeline here. So Aaron Spencer, father, dad, dog barking, wants to get up, checks the house. He decides to go into his daughter's room to check on her and this is when he realizes that 1am in the morning, my God, my daughter is gone. He says that he found a hoodie placed over top of a stuffed animal which was placed in the bed. Ferris Bueller type decoy, right. As a result, Aaron left.
- [31:17]
Captain
Wait, hold on. In Ferris Bueller. It was a mannequin.
- [31:20]
Nick
They always say it's never a mannequin.
- [31:22]
Captain
They say it's never a mannequin, but hey, Ferris Bueller's day off, guess what? It's a mannequin.
- [31:28]
Nick
Yeah. So Aaron decides he looks through the house, no daughter, and he is going to jump into dad mode and he is going to get in his truck and go looking for his daughter. Now, we should also mention that his wife is up at this time. She's looking through the home. He goes off in his truck to begin a frantic search for his missing daughter. At 1:12am, Heather Spencer, the mom, called 911 to report the teen girl missing. Meanwhile, Aaron Spencer spots Michael Fossler's truck on Highway 236. His daughter's inside that truck as well. Aaron Spencer sees Michael Fossler's white Ford F150 turn onto Highway 236 East. So he turned around and chased after Fossler's truck.
- [32:29]
Captain
And before we go too much further, whether he came into the house or convinced her to come out, it's kidnapping, period. There is a crime taking place.
- [32:43]
Nick
So now dad is chasing after the offender and the daughter who are in his. In that Ford F150. And he chases Fossler's vehicle, follows him for around six miles. All the while, we have Aaron Spencer, who he's flashing his lights, he's honking his horn, he's doing everything to try to tell Fossler with his vehicle to pull over. So then the two vehicles arrived at the intersection of highways 236 east and 13 north. And this is when Spencer just rammed his truck into the rear of Fossler's truck, sending the Ford F150 into a ditch and striking a wooden entry gate post. So he hits the back of this truck and slams it into this wooden gate post. So you can picture this. Fossler's truck is now up against this gate post and it's not going anywhere. So Spencer then says that he exited his vehicle with a firearm in hand and ordered Michael Fossler out of his vehicle and telling him to lay down in the ditch. Aaron later stated that he observed his daughter trying to exit the passenger side of the vehicle. But he said it appeared to him that Michael Fossler had grabbed her, preventing her from getting out of the vehicle.
- [34:18]
Captain
Yeah, because I've heard this reported multiple ways. And, and one of the ways I've heard it or the, the story told was when Spencer gets out of his truck, he's Ordering his daughter, hey, get out of the truck. Get out of the truck. And she can't or won't. We don't, that's, you know, again, we, we only have really two people's side of the story. But either way, then it turns out into him ordering out the pedophile.
- [34:48]
Nick
Aaron Spencer then says that Michael Fossler exited his vehicle and had something in his hand, but Spencer did not know what it was. Aaron Spencer stated that Michael Fossler then lunged towards him saying fuck you. Spencer stated that he then opened fire on Fossler, emptying his weapon before jumping on top of of Fossler and pistol whipping him.
- [35:15]
Captain
Yeah, he shot him a lot.
- [35:17]
Nick
Yes. Aaron Spencer then stated that he got his daughter out of the vehicle and returned to his truck where he reloaded his weapon. Now we also know that at 1:34am 911 dispatch got another call. This call is from Aaron Spencer who said he had located the quote, man who kidnapped his daughter, end quote, and his daughter, but that Michael Fossler was, quote, dead on the side of the road and that he had no choice. According to the police report, Spencer shot Fossler in the chest, arms and abdomen with a Glock 19 generation 4 pistol. And like the captain said, Spencer fired 16 shots, hitting Fossler 15 times.
- [36:12]
Captain
Yeah, that dude is dead.
- [36:14]
Nick
The report does not say how many times each body part was hit though a standard magazine for a Glock 19 holds 15 rounds, but if you chamber one, you've got 16 rounds.
- [36:25]
Captain
Right.
- [36:27]
Nick
Regarding the pistol whipping of Michael Fossler, the report notes that there was blood on the outside of the weapon when the police recovered it. Michael Fossler died at the scene. USA Today reported that the child's mother had thought this time Fossler might be trying to kill her daughter because he was facing six to nine felonies and her daughter was the only witness to those crimes.
- [36:55]
Captain
Yeah, Think about this. If he is successful in kidnapping her and then he ends up killing her and they can't pin that charge on him while all those other charges then go away.
- [37:08]
Nick
Yes. And regardless of, you know, 3 to 5 or how they would structure the sentencing for those charges, 43 counts, they'd probably reduce the number of counts at some point. But being 67 years old, it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. That's one thing that I think we should be keeping in mind. Now, of course, Aaron Spencer is going to be arrested on a preliminary charge of first degree Murder. He too was released on bail. This was the following day, November 27, 2024. Aaron Spencer was formally charged with second degree murder with a firearm enhancement charge.
- [37:57]
Captain
Yeah. And just to stop here for a second, if I'm law enforcement, even with this 911 call, even if I agree with what Aaron Spencer did, even if I think that it's within his rights, because you can look at it two ways. One, you can argue self defense, but you can also argue basically protecting another individual. And so I could see law enforcement eventually not charging him with anything. But the initial step is, hey, let's, let's just arrest him, let's get him in here, let's go over some of the evidence, let's go over, let's interview him and, and let's see what, and let's try to get all the details that we can of what happened.
- [38:41]
Nick
Yeah, this is such a difficult one here, right, Captain, because you, on one hand you can say you, I mean, he shot him 15 times, he fired the gun 16, hit him 15, pistol whipped him after he shot him 15 times. So you can easily say, all right, first degree murder or minimum second degree murder, and this guy's caught red handed. Then on the other side of that argument, you could say, no, this is self defense. What's in the middle of both of those arguments to me is the fact that my 13 year old daughter is in that guy's truck at the middle of the night. And oh, by the way, that guy's also the same guy that she told me had sexually assaulted her. And she told the Lone Oak Sheriff's Department that he sexually assaulted her as well.
- [39:41]
Captain
Yeah. And he's 67 years old. This is not his first pedophile rodeo. And also, we have to look at statistics, Right. And I try to look this up to get more accurate numbers, but Roughly, studies show 70 to 80% when a child is abducted, 70 to 80% will die within the first three hours the moment she's in his truck. Statistically, it's a ticking time bomb.
- [40:15]
Nick
The prosecutors charged Spencer with second degree murder and as we mentioned, the felony edition with the firearm that same day. So when he's charged that same day in November, his attorneys. This is Aaron Casanelli and Michael Kaiser. They issued a statement calling Spencer a decorated war hero who protected his country and a loving father whose heroic action protected his family. They said Fossler repeatedly violated his child and kidnapped her in the dark of night to continue his assaults on her. The statement criticized prosecutors for bringing charges against Spencer at all accused prosecutors of perpetuating these instead of protecting legitimate victims and punishing true criminal offenders. Then in December, on the 4th in 2024, the state filed a motion for a gag order alleging that Spencer's arrest had garnered media coverage throughout the state and nation and that it was necessary for a gag order to be in place, and the order was eventually granted. Spencer did file a detailed response in opposition for the gag order. He argued that granting the motion for a gag order would violate his due process rights to a fair and public trial pursuant to the 6th and 14th Amendments, as well as his First Amendment right to speak pursuant to both the Arkansas and the United States Constitutions. Spencer requested that a hearing on the state's motion be held in open court. Okay, so eventually this is going to lead to May 29 of the following year. Last year, 2025, the High Court struck down that gag order. They vacated the gag order in the case, allowing for more public discussion of the facts of the case. On June 14, 2025, Heather Spencer, Aaron's wife, shared a lengthy post on Facebook detailing the months leading up to the shooting the death of Michael Fossler. In this post she says their daughter, then 13, was groomed and assaulted by Fossler who was released on a low bond despite pending felony charges and a no contact order. It has been a hard eight months, she says, silently fighting battles where we were unprepared for. In those early days we had a very limited understanding of the magnitude of what we were facing. What happened to our child starting in the spring of 2024 when she was just 13 was horrifying and traumatic for all who loved her. She is a quiet homeschool child who at the time spent more days than not helping care for her dying grandpa. It was hard work and when presented with the opportunity to spend some time in a quote safe place, I allowed her to take a much needed break on days when we weren't busy to be with friends that were family. Deep in my soul they were family and I trusted she was safe. She wasn't. It took very little exposure for an unknown man who was old enough to be my father to start pursuing my child. This monster was an opportunist and started grooming my then 13 year old daughter via text. In July of 2024 we were informed by a family member that our now 14 year old child had confided that she had been raped. Immediately we asked her child what happened and she explained that this man who was a stranger to us had assaulted her multiple times. We let the law run its course and we were promised along the way that this isn't 20 years ago. They take these things seriously now. We trusted that this man would be served justice under the law. While we were happy that he was quickly arrested, we were not privy to the fact that he was released on a low bond with zero supervision. Even though we anticipated his release, we thought the pending felony charge and a no contact order would be enough to keep him away from our child. We were wrong.
- [44:51]
Captain
Well and wasn't he making contact with her before he kidnapped her?
- [44:56]
Nick
Yes. And she explains that in the latter part of this post. So she says we put our daughter into therapy and tried our best to manage her trauma while still caring for my dying father. When we were awakened by our daughter's dog in the middle of the night on October 8th my first thought was that our child was sick. I woke my husband up and asked him to check on her. What happened next is burned into my very being. He called out from her room that she was missing. And this goes to a lot of what you were saying and I'm glad that you cited the statistics here because that's something we've referenced in other cases when we have a missing child. She goes on to say immediately all the lights in the house were on. We were calling for her inside the house, then outside. I called our son and our niece, the only people who may have known where she may have gone. Neither did. So I called 911 immediately as my husband left to go looking for her with no direction in mind, only a prayer of finding her. This is what you were referencing here and I, I, I don't know the particulars of this but it's certainly a connection. So she says my sister in law then sent us a picture of a cash app payment for doordash from the predator to our daughter and niece and that that payment, that receipt would have been from a day or two prior to her going missing. So she says in that moment we realize that she may have been taken. But it's the middle of the night and everything is happening in seconds and every second counts. I tell 911 that this man may be involved. So she mentions Michael fossler in the 911 call. Says as I'm speaking I'm realizing that if he does have her I'll probably never see her again. She posts statistics and horror stories raced through my mind. My baby, my little girl gone. All I could do was pray. I hung up with the 911 operator and called my mother. I screamed in horror while she prayed. Hail Mary's God, please save my baby. My own screams will forever haunt my memory. By God's grace alone, my husband spotted the predator and our child and turned to follow them. Then the predator ran with our child. Thanks to my husband's quick and courageous actions, our child was saved that night. I have no doubt that if it weren't for God and my husband, I would have never seen my child again. The relief of my child being alive was quickly followed by terror as the prosecutor set preliminary charges at murder one with one hundred fifty thousand dollar bond going through yet another assault exam. This is, this part is, this part is rough right here.
- [47:52]
Captain
It's all pretty rough so far, man.
- [47:55]
Nick
It's all, it's all very rough. But this one, like, like this one, like, I don't know, it burned a hole in my mind when I, the first time I read it, going through yet another assault exam with my child at the hospital. 1. I couldn't imagine being in that scenario ever at all.
- [48:13]
Captain
Right.
- [48:14]
Nick
She's going through a rape exam at the hospital with her child. And she says while trying to find a lawyer for my husband at the same time was a nightmare. Navigating criminal charges while also being fully traumatized by the events of that night was difficult. It quickly made its way through social media and with the support of our community, we attained the very best lawyers and Aaron was released on bond. She goes on to say we were no longer able to share our story. So she's, she was referencing the gag order. She says add an arraignment. They decided to charge my husband with murder too, with a gun enhancement charge. Then immediately, the same judge who released this monster out into the community to continue his reign of terror on our child placed us and seemingly the whole world under an unconstitutional gag order. We were no longer allowed to share our story and we were forced to suffer the injustice in silence. By some other miracle, our case was heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court and the gag order was lifted. We are now free to share our story.
- [49:21]
Captain
Yeah, it's almost like the system knows that charging him with anything is going to be questionable. So let's put a gag order on so nobody can question us and maybe it'll just go away. There won't be public pressure and we can charge this guy and put him in, in prison.
- [49:40]
Nick
And then the last paragraph of her post. Captain says my husband didn't ask to be put in a position to save our child. We didn't ask for any of this. An evil man with a Long history of predatory behavior, targeted our child and was not scared of the consequences. My husband was forced to save his child from someone who should have never been on the streets to begin with. Please continue to pray for our family and share our story. If this can happen to us in rural Arkansas, it can happen anywhere.
- [50:13]
Captain
A lot of weird happens in Arkansas. But think about this too. Let's say he did go into the house to kidnap her and he was spotted by the father and then the father shot him. Would we still charge the father with second degree murder?
- [50:29]
Nick
That's an interesting thing to ponder. That. That's an interesting part of it. The other part of it too is I think what's not being said here wasn't said in her lengthy post. But anyway. But in the post I thought was, was well put together. I very well said.
- [50:47]
Captain
Brilliant.
- [50:47]
Nick
I think, I think, I think mom did the right thing. I think that that that tells her side of the story. It also tells the public some of the things that she went through internally and some of the things that her family went through internally that wasn't so obvious to the rest of us. But the part of this that makes this criminal, right, not just criminal, but extremely dangerous. There's, there's every reason to believe that this man would have went to extreme lengths to do something. Kidnap the girl, assault her again, kill her. We don't know. I say we should have every reason to believe that he would have done something extreme because just by way of the no contact order, he shouldn't have gone anywhere near their home. He shouldn't have gone anywhere near that girl. Whether he stepped foot in their home or not, he shouldn't have been anywhere near that girl.
- [51:49]
Captain
And we have proof he was making contact before this.
- [51:52]
Nick
And to break that no contact order while still facing 43 charges tells me that's an indicator to me that he might be willing to do something extreme because that act in itself is extreme.
- [52:08]
Captain
I absolutely agree with you and I absolutely agree with the parents in the sense of like, that's the first thing that would be going through your head. This guy was ordered to stay away. He has 43 charges pending against him. And then he stole our daughter, he kidnapped our daughter. There is a crime in progress and I just don't get it. It's like if there was an elderly lady walking down the street and some thug jumped out and started attacking her and a good Samaritan ran out and grabbed the guy and pulled, pulled the attacker off the elderly woman and threw him to the ground. And in the Process, that guy hit his head and died. Well, we wouldn't charge that individual because, one, he was protecting somebody else. And its cause and effect. This guy would. He would have never stepped in if this thug didn't attack the elderly woman.
- [53:05]
Nick
This one's a very difficult one for me to have, have a very, very strong opinion one way or another. I don't see anything wrong personally with what Aaron Spencer did. Those statistics that you cited and that I then echoed. The other part of this, too, is. And we've reviewed cases like this in the garage before as. As outside of the box as this one might feel like on the surface. No, we've told you stories before, true crime stories of child or young adult accuses someone of. Of an offense or of a sexual assault or rape. Child or young adult disappears in the middle of the night, never found, never seen again. The police find the stuffed animal with the hoodie on top of it and go, oh, she ran away. Something must have been going on at home that she wanted to get away from, or the kid was just a problem and she ran away. And now there's nothing we can do. And, oh, we have to drop the charges against this man because he can no longer face his accuser in the court of law. So two to three hours, potentially from being dead and buried and maybe never found again if dad doesn't step out into the night and get in his truck and go looking. Now, Heather, the wife, did set up a GoFundMe to pay for her husband's legal fees, but this was removed. The money was returned to the donors. It was receiving donations, but it was returned to the donors as GoFundMe does not allow fundraisers to raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime.
- [54:59]
Captain
Right.
- [54:59]
Nick
In October of 2025, Aaron Spencer announced his candidacy for Lone Oak county sheriff, campaigning on the message that the current system had failed to protect his family. So according to reports, when he launched his campaign on October 10, he announced that he is running for Lone Oak County Sheriff as the head of the agency that arrested him the previous October. Spencer described himself as the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed him and a husband, a combat veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, a contractor and a farmer. He said he has seen firsthand the failures in law enforcement and in our circuit court. And he said he could no longer sit by silently. He says, quote, this campaign isn't about me. It's about every parent, every neighbor, every family who deserves to feel safe in their homes. And safe in their community. It's about restoring trust where neighbors know law enforcement is on their side and families know they will not be left alone in a moment of need. But I think following that announcement, but.
- [56:17]
Captain
I even think you can go a step further in that you need a community that feels safe if a threat, if they feel like they're in immediate threat, that they feel safe and confident that they're able to protect themselves and if there is a crime happening to somebody else that they feel safe in stopping that crime or helping that individual. You have to have a community that is okay with that, that they have some kind of understanding. And law enforcement, again, you don't want the public taking the law into their own hands, but you have to have the right to self protect. You have to have the right to to protect somebody else if they're in immediate danger.
- [57:09]
Nick
Following that announcement, Sheriff John Staley with the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office shared the following statement. I will be seeking reelection to continue being our Lone Oak County Sheriff. Since 2013, I have served as sheriff of Loan Oak county with a clear mission to protect our citizens and hold those who break the law accountable. From day one, our focus has been on three major threats to our communities. Drug traffickers, sexual predators and thieves. We've made significant progress and we will continue to work tirelessly to keep Lone Oak county safe and ensure justice is served fairly and consistently for everyone. My motto has been and will continue to be do what's right, not what's easy. Doing what's right isn't always popular. There were some pre trial hearings that took place in middle of December 2025. The pre trial hearings were held where the judge ruled that the body camera footage and Spencer's statements from July 2024 would be admissible as evidence. So remember, that's when he's talking to the officers when they first are notifying Lone Oak County Sheriff's Department about the assaults.
- [58:30]
Captain
Right.
- [58:31]
Nick
His comments about hey, like this isn't good enough or you know, so that body cam footage will be part of the January trial and also during the pre trial hearing on this murder case. Aaron Spencer's defense team withdrew a motion that sought to exclude a glass smoking device found in a police cruiser after his arrest. The specific reasons for initial filing, the motion to exclude the evidence or the reasons for its subsequent withdrawal were not detailed in the available reports. Some other pretrial hearings address several other pieces of evidence, including cell phone data. The judge ruled that the FBI agent could testify about cell site location data from Spencer's phone. This one's interesting. No one's dispute, no one's disputing where Aaron Spencer was when he pulled the trigger and killed Michael Fossler. Right, right. That's not part of the trial. Nobody's denying that Spencer killed Fossler. It's just, was it in self defense and protecting his family or was it an unlawful killing of another person? That's the, the argument. Nobody's arguing that, that he killed him and nobody's arguing where he was when that murder took or nobody's arguing where.
- [59:52]
Captain
He was when he was right in front of the pedophile pulling the freaking trigger. And, and I'm not trying to correct you because I think you said it correctly, but I want to want everybody to be clear on this, especially in Arkansas, you have the right to protect yourself and you have the right to protect somebody else. So there's two ways that they could go as far as trying to defend this. But again, it's cause and effect. This pedophile would not be dead if he didn't go and break orders and kidnap a child. And it's pretty pathetic that all we're going to charge these pedophiles with is a couple years. And I understand that we have, you know, there's some sense that these sickos get what's coming to them in prison, but that doesn't always happen.
- [60:48]
Nick
Part of that though too, we, we got to be clear about something, is there is a sentencing process. And just because a couple of law enforcement officers in a. Army veteran, airborne veteran are discussing what the penalty will be doesn't mean that is what the penalty will be. Right. When we're sitting, when they're sitting around spitballing and saying three to five, it doesn't necessarily mean that it would be three to five. It could be more, it could be zero, it could be zero. It could be, it could be 20 years. We, we, you know that that is not for us to say. There is a, there are court proceedings, a trial that would take place. They would determine if he's guilty or not. And if he is determined to be guilty, found to be guilty, then it will be up to the judge or the jury or whatever the scenario is to determine what the appropriate sentence is based off of those charges.
- [61:44]
Captain
But that's also why they stack so many charges, because there's normally some kind of deal because they don't want to put the child victim through more trauma.
- [61:55]
Nick
It's, it's too difficult to say. I mean, it goes, we've seen it go. The pendulum swings wide in both directions my friend. Unfortunately. Unfortunately yeah.
- [62:06]
Captain
But whether it happens to a child or whether it happens to adult I just think the there needs to be stricter penalties and stricter sentencing of we have to do something to deter these sick individuals.
- [62:24]
Nick
100 I 100 agree but again unfortunately we've seen both sides of that. We've seen people serve six months. We've seen people get life sentences for, for rape, for sexual assaults. The other portion of the pretrial hearings that included some evidence or not included evidence is dash camera memory card. A dash camera memory card was in question. So arguments were heard over the loss or destruction because they don't know what happened to it. A memory card from a dash camera and how that could affect the case. So it would be the dash camera of the responding officers to the shooting site. Nobody can seem to find it. They don't know if look it would be protocol for it the camera to have a memory card to be up and running and then that would have been filmed, would have been recorded. You probably you would have been able to hear conversations on their statements, verbal statements on there. But that doesn't exist today to go to court when Aaron Spencer faces his trial.
- [63:40]
Captain
Well in fairness to law enforcement those little cards are tiny.
- [63:44]
Nick
Yeah. But this is where things get so damn dicey with this case.
- [63:49]
Captain
You could.
- [63:50]
Nick
The reason why this is part of the pre trial hearing is because you can't have a jury hear that oh this card may have gone missing on purpose to benefit Aaron Spencer. Maybe he said and did some things at the scene that are going to make it look like he's guilty of more than just protecting his family. The part of that that gets so dicey is if someone in law enforcement went out of their way to risk their own neck to protect him by destroying or losing this memory card if it did exist and if it was up and running at the time. But then this is the same outfit that is charging him, arresting him for murder.
- [64:33]
Captain
Well they arrested him. But isn't it up to the prosecution if they follow through with the correct but.
- [64:40]
Nick
Correct. But it's, it's hand in glove. It's. I mean it's, it's the same thing. So this case, we wanted to spotlight this case for obvious reasons. I don't think we need to sit here and justify us covering this case. This is a case that is going to get you riled up. If there are people out there that believe that, that Aaron Spencer should be facing a trial. And I can look, I can side with some of that argument. There are other people that say he shouldn't have ever been charged at all. I think, I think personally, what I do not mind happening. I don't love that he was charged. I. But I'm not going to die on that hill. I'm fine with this getting sorted out by. In the courts.
- [65:28]
Captain
Well, that's my speculation on the prosecution, that my big issue with it is what. Whatever state you live in and whatever country you live in, I don't want to live in one that I don't. That I don't have the right to protect myself. And I don't have the right to stop a crime that's happening right in front of me, especially one that is happening to my child, especially when that child is already a victim of this individual. We need to have that right. And you can, you can make so many analogies. Somebody bust into your house and maybe they're just going in there to rob you, but you don't know that at the time. You should have the right and you should feel confident and safe that if you protect yourself and something happens to this individual, well, guess what? That's their fault. It's this pedophile's fault that he kidnapped this girl.
- [66:28]
Nick
Absolutely.
- [66:29]
Captain
And the father stopped the crime from happening. And he wasn't being a vigilante. A vigilante would have said you, you charged him with 43 counts and then you let him out on bond and on his way out of prison, I kill him or I track him down at his house and I kill him. Aaron Spencer did not put himself into this situation. That pedophile did. And, and I just don't. I don't want to live in a state. I don't want to live in a country that that's not okay. That you can't protect yourself or your family member or even somebody you don't even know when a crime is taking place. Again, we, we say it all the time on the show last week. We're saying if you know something, it's your duty as a human to say something. If you recognize this individual. And the Lane Bryant murders that killed five innocent people and almost killed a six. If you recognize this piece of shit, it is your obligation as a good human to come forward. Tell law enforcement, and if you don't guess what you're a piece of. And before we dove into this case, I, I heard, you know, some rumblings about it, but I just thought it was a situation where his daughter was a victim. They, they charged the individual they're awaiting trial. And then this guy went out and hunted this guy down. That's just what I assumed before we looked into it. So going in I was, I had some confliction where I'm like, well I understand what he did and why he did it. And then you question that in yourself, would I do something like that? Would I, would I hunt down the pedophile that raped my daughter? But that's not what happened. And, and, and the more I looked into it, the more I was like, I'm not on the fence about any of this. And I don't understand why the prosecution is charging him. Like I said, I understand. You arrest him, you bring him in for questioning and you look at the evidence. But however you stack it, he's either in his rights as self defense or in the defense of somebody else. And it's not just somebody else, it's his 14 year old daughter that was raped by this piece of shit. And again, go back to the statistics. If he doesn't find that truck. Are we telling a different true crime story today? I think so.
- [69:17]
Nick
Where I want to be clear here, I'm not sitting on any fence.
- [69:20]
Captain
No, no. And I'm not saying that you are.
- [69:21]
Nick
Where I think people get, where I think people get motivated for a prosecution here is that it boils down to the facts of the case. Right? So one portion of the facts of the case is that in July Aaron Spencer goes to a person to obtain this man's contact information, his, his address and in some reports state his phone number as well. And every report says the same, that he told this person that he was seeking that information from do not call the cops. That is implying that, that this man probably was going to take, take justice into his own hands. Now the part of that that is every dad and every mom out there is going to not have a huge problem with that. Okay, so let's, let's just clear that.
- [70:16]
Captain
Most people, but I mean we don't even have to put it in the category of parent or non parent. Most people would be okay with that.
- [70:22]
Nick
The issue there then becomes this man technically is innocent by our system, by our society, is innocent until proven guilty. And therefore going after him does not allow that to play out. You could be harming, killing a man who may in fact not be guilty of what someone has accused him of.
- [70:49]
Captain
Absolutely.
- [70:50]
Nick
I think that some people have a problem with Aaron Spencer's later actions based off of. Yes. That that conversation took place. Yes. Police told him you can't take matters into your own Hands. But where you should pump the brakes and stop having a problem with it is exactly to what the captain is saying. Several months went by and he didn't do that. He could have gone.
- [71:16]
Captain
Yeah.
- [71:17]
Nick
And done something. He didn't. It was only when his daughter was found and located in the middle of the night in the passenger seat of that offender's vehicle that he had to defend his family.
- [71:34]
Captain
Well, think about this. Let's say there was no 43 charges. Let's say this 67 year old never existed in the Spencers family's life until that night. Kidnapped a child. 70 to 80% of them will be dead within three hours. So you can go, there's a crime taking place, a kidnapping, possibly attempted murder, possibly a rape. You should have the right to protect that individual from not becoming another statistic. One of the biggest defense is what you just said. There was three months you were ordered to not make contact with this child. You were ordered to not make contact with this family. And you did. And you broke the law and that's why you ended up dead.
- [72:40]
Nick
The trial which will start January 26th, it's been said that it's expected to be a five day trial. I anticipate that it might go lengthier than that. I think that, look, there's a lot at play here. There's a lot of things to analyze. There's a lot of things for the jury to take into consideration. I hope that both sides are able to be fully transparent and I hope that the court does not handcuff either side in what they can present at court. And I think that the jury. This is one that truly needs to be decided by members, citizens of our society, by, by peers. And I do not, I. I do not envy the position of any of the jury members here. I think that like I said when we started the show, I think there's probably a lot of the citizens of the county that are very happy that they were not chosen for this jury. Because even though there's a lot at play here, there's a lot at stake. There's. There's a lot to analyze. There's a lot of decisions to be made. This is one that, that look, what's right and what is wrong does not always perfectly align with what is lawful and what is criminal. And that's the major question that hangs in the balance.
- [74:22]
Captain
Well, Colonel, that was, that was a tough episode, a doozy. But we want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage. Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother. Colonel, do we have any recommended reading for the beautiful listeners.
- [74:35]
Nick
I'm going to give you a little bit of recommended listening that will also play out to some recommended viewing if you have not. We understand life gets busy. Life gets in the way. You don't always get to enjoy the True Crime Garage every single episode, but if you have not checked it out yet, a lot of praise, a lot of great feedback that we are receiving. A couple weeks ago, early January, first week of January, we released two episodes, one titled Best of True Crime and the other Best of True Crime Garage 2025. In Best of True Crime, the Captain and I, we sat down and we discussed three of our favorite true crime docu series or documentaries that came out in the 2025 calendar year. So that will give you plenty of recommendations for recommended viewing and then for recommended listening. Our episode, the Best of True crime garage of 2025 was us sharing some of our favorite episodes. Whether it be episodes that we really enjoyed, researching, piecing together, working on, together, recording for you. These were our favorite or episodes that we were most proud of of 2025, ones that you may have missed. So go back and check that out. It's. It's, it's listening. On the lighter side, it's not such heavy stuff like we were talking about here today. So check out those two episodes of True Crime Garage and then enjoy all those great recommendations that came along with both of those glorious episodes.
- [76:07]
Captain
I had a good time. Was it good for you? Because it was good for me.
- [76:10]
Nick
I. I very much enjoyed those episodes.
- [76:13]
Captain
Until next week.
- [76:14]
Nick
Be good, be kind and don't let it.
- [76:53]
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