The Kentucky sheriff of a small Appalachian county who is accused of enter a judge’s office and shoot him dead He pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on Wednesday.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, is in custody in another Kentucky county but was arraigned by video Wednesday before a special judge, who is replacing the slain judge, Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins.
Dressed in a gray prison uniform, Stines showed no emotion during his video appearance for the brief hearing. He appeared alongside a public defender, who entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The special judge, Carter County District Judge H. Rupert Wilhoit III, presided over the hearing from his courtroom in northeastern Kentucky. Bail was not discussed during the hearing, and the judge indicated that the maximum sentence in the case would be death.
Leslie County Detention Center
It was Stines’ first court appearance since the shooting, which shocked residents of Whitesburg, a small town about two and a half hours southeast of Lexington near the Virginia border.
The preliminary investigation indicates Stines shot Mullins multiple times on Sept. 19 following an argument in court, according to Kentucky State Police. Mullins, 54, who had served as a judge since 2009, died at the scene and Stines, 43, surrendered minutes later without incident. He has been charged with one count of first-degree murder.
Police have not provided any details on a possible motive.
The Kentucky attorney general’s office is working with a special prosecutor in the case. The county’s lead prosecutor, Matt Butler, who recused himself and his office from the investigation, citing social and family ties to Mullins, said in a statement that the judge was well-liked by his neighbors.
“We all know each other here. … Anybody from Letcher County will tell you that Judge Mullins and I married sisters and have children who are first cousins but act like siblings,” Butler said in a statement from his office.
In Letcher County, those who know the sheriff and judge had nothing but praise for them, recalling how Mullins helped people with substance abuse disorders get treatment and how Stines led efforts to combat the opioid crisisThey worked together for years and were friends.
Mullins has served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
A federal lawsuit charged Stines with not investigating the allegations According to CBS News, one of his deputies repeatedly sexually abused a woman in Mullins’ chambers while he was a bailiff for the judge. Stines was deposed three days before the shooting.
