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Resources recognition | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

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Resources recognition | Arkansas Democrat Gazette


The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation honored those who have worked to expand the use of the state’s outdoor resources at its Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame Banquet on Aug. 24 at Little Rock’s Statehouse Convention Center.

Inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame this year were Ret. U.S. Army Col. Shawn Daniel, executive director of Darby’s Warrior Support; and Steve Lochmann, professor of Fisheries Management and Ecology at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Darby’s Warrior Support is a nonprofit organization that provides all-inclusive hunting and fishing opportunities to 9/11-generation combat veterans, particularly those who served in special operations.

UAPB’s Fisheries Management and Ecology offers a bachelor of science degree in aquaculture and fisheries sciences, with research-backed programs geared toward supporting the state’s recreational fishing industry.

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The Steve Smith Spirit of Giving Award went to the Mayfly Project, founded by Jess and Laura Westbrook in Arkansas in 2015 and now active in multiple states. The Mayfly Project introduces children in foster care to fly fishing and offers them education about their local water ecosystems.

The Foundation bestowed its Legacy Award on the late Andy Simmons, who donated 237 acres of land on the Jefferson/Lincoln county line, formerly a hunting property, for the education and promotion of waterfowl conservation and outdoor recreational activities. That land is now the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Simmons Outdoor Skills Farm.

— Story and photos by Kimberly Dishongh



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Arkansas

Murder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed teen daughter’s rapist

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Murder charge dropped for Arkansas sheriff nominee who killed teen daughter’s rapist


A judge tossed a murder charge against an Arkansas sheriff nominee who was about to go on trial for killing his 14-year-old daughter’s rapist.

The case against Aaron Spencer was dismissed by a judge on Thursday afternoon after law enforcement lost a dash camera memory card that may have captured the fatal October 2024 shooting of 67-year-old Michael Fosler.

Aaron Spencer was slated to go to trial in a few weeks for fatally shooting Michael Fosler, 67, after catching him driving off with his daughter, whom he had already been charged with grooming and abusing. Heather Spencer/Erin Cassinelli via AP

“The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” wrote Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr.

The development comes just a few weeks before Spencer was slated to go to trial on a second-degree murder charge for allegedly gunning down Fosler on Oct. 8, 2024 after catching him driving off with his daughter — whom the sicko had already been charged with grooming and abusing.

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Spencer woke up around 1 a.m. to find his then-13-year-old daughter had vanished. He soon found her in the passenger seat of the car Fosler was driving.

He then forced the truck off the road and allegedly shot the accused sexual abuser, according to court documents.

The case was dismissed on Thursday afternoon after law enforcement lost a dash cam memory card that may have captured the shooting. Facebook/Heather Spencer

Prosecutors argued that Spencer planned the murder and could have called the cops during the car chase instead of taking matters into his own hands.

He pleaded not guilty to the crime, maintaining he acted accordingly to protect his child from a predator.

Spencer’s attorneys have not denied that he shot and killed Fosler — and the protective dad said the incident spurred him to run for sheriff in Lonoke County, Arkansas.

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“I’m the father who acted to protect his daughter when the system failed,” Spencer said in the video statement to launch his campaign.

Spencer won the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff in March and is expected to win the general election. Facebook/Heather Spencer

He won the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff in March and is expected to win the general election in the overwhelmingly conservative area east of Little Rock, the New York Times reported.

“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,” Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said in a statement to the Associated Press.

“This father should have never been charged for protecting his child.”

With Post wires

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Stockton rappers plead guilty to possessing machine gun, marijuana in Arkansas traffic stop

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Stockton rappers plead guilty to possessing machine gun, marijuana in Arkansas traffic stop


LITTLE ROCK, AR — Two well-known Northern California rappers have pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the 2025 traffic stop where an Arkansas state trooper found a stolen Glock pistol and about five ounces of marijuana, court records show.

Jaymani “EBK Jaaybo” Gorman, 22, and Xavier “Baby Maxx” Jones, 19, pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute it. The gun charge carries up to 10 years but the actual prison term they’ll get is up in the air; no specific sentence has been agreed to and their sentencing date wasn’t announced, court records show.

Gorman and Jones entered their guilty pleas on Thursday, weeks after Jones signaled his intent to plead guilty, backed out, then changed his mind again. Both men were scheduled to go on trial before reaching an agreement. In light of their guilty pleas, prosecutors dismissed several other federal charges.

Gorman and Jones were arrested last year during a traffic stop in Arkansas with a Glock pistol illegally modified to shoot fully automatic, about five ounces of marijuana, and $8,534 in cash, according to court records. The money and a Luis Vuitton handbag have been seized by the federal government, court records show.

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Oakland police say the gun has been “forensically linked” to a February 2025 shooting where a rival rapper, Jarico “Dreamllife Rizzy” Anderson, was shot and wounded as he drove on Highway 24 towards Orinda in Oakland. No charges have been filed in that shooting. Police have named Anderson as a member of a San Francisco gang and both Jones and Gorman as members of a rival gang in Stockton.

Anderson has since been hit with federal charges in the Bay Area for allegedly having a gun as a felon. A judge has released him while the case is pending, court records show.



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Arkansas cotton, soybean planting pushes toward finish as June ‘Acreage’ surveys get underway – Pine Bluff Commercial

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Arkansas cotton, soybean planting pushes toward finish as June ‘Acreage’ surveys get underway – Pine Bluff Commercial






Arkansas cotton, soybean planting pushes toward finish as June ‘Acreage’ surveys get underway – Pine Bluff Commercial


















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