43-year-old Shawn “Mickey” Stines officially resigned as sheriff of Letcher County on Monday, the next day he was in court for a preliminary hearing.
Stines is charged with murdering 54-year-old District Judge Kevin Mullins on September 19th in the judge’s chambers following an argument.
The surveillance video shown during Tuesday’s proceedings, which did not have sound, shows Mullins crouching behind his desk with his hands up and Stines firing multiple times. As Stines begins to leave, he turns and fires several more shots. It is alleged that he saw Mullins moving under his desk.
KSP Detective Clayton Stamper testified that Sheriff Stines had tried to call his juvenile daughter from his phone, then took the judge’s phone and tried to contact her again.
“Sheriff Stines uses his telephone to make some phone calls.” Stamper testified, “He then borrows Judge Mullins cell phone and appears to make a call on that. And that led to what you just saw.” Stamper was referring to the video footage from the day of the shooting.
The initial investigation shows both phones were used to try and reach Stines’ daughter.
Judge Rupert Wilhoit found probable cause to refer the first-degree murder charge to a grand jury. Defense attorneys did not deny that Stines shot Mullins, but suggested Stines was experiencing an “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time of the shooting.
Stines has pleaded not guilty to murder.
