Sheriff’s defense against juror’s death may depend on appeal in separate case: report

Former Kentucky Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines pleaded not guilty Monday to the murder of District Court Judge Kevin Mullins in the same courtroom where the attorney opened fire on the attorney in September.

Attorney Jeremy Bartley said Monday that Stines has a “defense” planned to justify the shooting of his longtime colleague in his office, the Courier-Journal reported.

The timing of the sheriff’s deposition in a sexual-assault case earlier that month “will certainly be an important factor in this case,” Bartley said, according to the newspaper.

“I believe that’s a small part of it,” Bartley said after Monday’s hearing, which lasted five minutes. “This is a big story. It’s a story that’s kind of hard to tell. We look forward to sharing the full version of that as we go through this judicial process.”

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Prosecutor Jackie Steele declined to comment when asked if she thought there was a motive for the incident, but said she does not expect Stines to face any charges other than murdering a public official. He told the newspaper that it is too early to know if he plans to pursue the death penalty in the case.

The lawsuit in question was filed by two women, one of whom said Letcher County Deputy Ben Fields forced her to have sex inside the jury room where the shooting took place, where there were no cameras. The woman, who was under house arrest, accused her deputy of repeatedly abusing her for six months to get out of prison.

Stines was accused of “willful negligence in failing to properly train and supervise” Fields, who was convicted of federal charges and served several months in prison. That case is pending.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case said Stines’ deposition lasted several hours, and they were surprised by the shooting, according to the Courier-Journal.

Ned Pillersdorf, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, told the court that he heard differing opinions about whether the charges were related to the Sept. 19 shooting. His colleague made the decision, he said, and remembered that Stines had a “strange” demeanor the entire time.

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Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines is seen pointing his gun at District Court Judge Kevin Mullins. (Letcher County Handout)

Stines was denied bond Monday. Bartley said they plan to file for an adversary bond, but told reporters it’s “unlikely” to succeed.

Retired Judge Julia H. Adams, who was appointed as the special judge in Stines’ case, told reporters that she decided not to grant the former bond officer after “significant consideration,” citing the death penalty as the main reason for her. decision.

Defense attorney Jeremy Bartley questioned KSP Detective Clayton Stamper at Shawn “Mickey” Stines’ arraignment in Morgan County District Court. October 1, 2024 (Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Stines pleaded not guilty on September 25. He officially resigned as governor at the end of September after receiving a letter from Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Kentucky General Counsel S. Travis Mayo urging him to do so. He was booked into the Leslie County Jail, police said.

It is still not clear what motivated the former court officer to do this pulled a bullet.

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District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was killed by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, in his judge’s chambers, authorities said. (Kentucky Court of Justice; Letcher County Sheriff’s Office)

Kentucky State Police Det. Clayton Stamper testified at the trial that the two men had lunch with the group a few hours before the shooting, The Courier-Journal report.

According to Stamper, Stines tried to call his daughter on his cell phone, then called Mullins.

“Our detectives seized two cell phones, and they are still being analyzed,” Kentucky State Police Officer Matt Gayheart previously told the media. Daily Mail.

“I was told that the judge made a statement to Mickey about, ‘Do we need to meet in private in my chambers?'” Stamper testified. The Associated Press reported.

NEW VIDEO SHOWS KENTUCKY SHERIFF POINTING GUN AT JUDGE BEFORE ALLEGED SHOOTING

Former Letcher County Ky. Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines looks on for prosecutors during his arraignment at the Morgan County Courthouse in West Liberty, Ky., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Stines is accused of murdering District Judge Kevin Mullins. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

“It’s possible, but I don’t know that,” Stamper said when asked if it was Stines inspired to shoot Mullins based on what he saw in the judge’s phone call.

“I talked to him, but he didn’t say anything about why this happened,” Stamper said, according to the AP. “But he was calm… Actually, all he said was, ‘Treat me well.’

When Stins was arrested, he allegedly told another police officer, “they are trying to kidnap my wife and child,” said Stamper.

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Bartley in front he told People that the shooting “was not planned and happened in the heat of passion.”

“For us, the highest level of guilt should be manslaughter based on the least defense of emotional disturbance,” Bartley said.

The shooting incident in the town of Whitesburg shook the community of Letcher County, Kentucky, where Stines served as a bailiff in the Mullins courthouse before becoming sheriff in 2018.

“We’re all in awe of it,” Garnard Kincer Jr., Mullins’ friend and former Jenkins mayor, told PEOPLE. “It made us unable to walk. We can’t believe it happened.”