A former Kentucky sheriff is facing the death penalty after he was charged over the slaying of a judge gunned down in his courthouse chambers two months ago.
Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines was indicted on one count of murder of a public official by a Letcher County grand jury in a murder that shocked the tiny Appalachian community.
Stines had been the sheriff of the southeastern Kentucky county when authorities say he walked into District Judge Kevin Mullins’ chambers in Whitesburg, spoke with the judge and then opened fire eight times, killing him on September 19.
Mullins, 54, who held the judgeship for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines surrendered without incident.
Stines pleaded not guilty to murder and has been held in another Kentucky county jail.
Stines, 43, stepped down as sheriff more than a week after the shooting and his replacement, Billy Jones, was sworn in on October 1. Jones was a former resource officer at a high school in Letcher County.
Police have given no motive for the shooting involving two prominent members of the county bordering Virginia. Whitesburg is 150 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky.
Defense attorney Jeremy Bartley had earlier called the slaying a crime of passion carried out as his client was experiencing an ‘extreme emotional disturbance.’
Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines, 43, faces the death penalty after being accused of pumping eight bullets into his close friend District Judge Kevin Mullins inside his chambers
Stines lawyers claim the sheriff was acting ‘in the heat of passion’ and the killing was not planned
Authorities also suggested the murder was being investigated as a possible sex scandal but have so far not elaborated.
Video showing the judge being gunned down was played at a court hearing last month.
The video, with no audio, showed a man identified by police as Stines pulling out a gun and shooting the judge as he sat at his desk.
The man walked around the desk, pointed the gun at the judge – who had fallen to the floor – and fired again. Some people in the courtroom gallery sobbed as the video was played.
Mullins died from multiple gunshot wounds, a Kentucky State Police detective said at the hearing.
The detective testified that Stines tried calling his daughter whose number have been saved on Mullins´ phone just before the shooting.
After he surrendered, Stines told police, ‘They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid.’
Stines is accused of gunning down Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, after entering the judge’s chambers at Lechter County Courthouse on September 19
The judge can be seen attempting to take cover behind is desk while Stines aimed his weapon at him
Video shows Stines pointing his weapon at Mullins as he hid underneath his desk
The shooting is thought to have unfolded after Stines discovered his daughter’s phone number in Mullins’ phone
Stines and Mullins had worked together on drug policy in the rural Kentucky county that has been badly hit by the opioid epidemic
Stines pleaded not guilty to the murder – which stunned the small town of Whitesburg
Investigators found no weapon on Mullins or in his chambers, the detective said.
Police allege Stines walked into the judge’s outer office, told court employees he needed to speak to Mullins alone, then proceeded to shoot him once they entered the inner office.
Stines then walked out with his hands raised and surrendered to officers, who placed him in handcuffs. He is said to have told officers to ‘treat me fair’ as he was arrested.
As DailyMail.com exclusively reported in September, the sheriff and judge, who were longtime friends, shared an outside table at the popular Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street for lunch only a few hundred yards from the courthouse, just hours before the shooting.
The pair were lunchtime regulars together at the sports bar and on that fateful Thursday ordered their usual – both having the $13.99 wings with salad.
Stines’ defense team said they left the hearing with more questions than answers and said they were conducting their own ‘parallel investigation.’
He will be arraigned on Monday.
