A former Kentucky sheriff has been indicted in the slaying of a judge who was gunned down in his courthouse chambers two months ago. The shooting shocked a tiny Appalachian community. Prosecutors say Shawn “Mickey” Stines was indicted Thursday on one count of murder of a public official by a Letcher County grand jury.
FILE - Former Letcher County Ky. Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines looks over at the prosecutors during a hearing at the Morgan County Courthouse in West Liberty, Ky., Oct. 1, 2024. Shawn “Mickey” Stines was indicted on one count of murder of a public official by a Letcher County grand jury, prosecutors said.
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.more than a week after the shooting and his replacement, Billy Jones, was sworn in on Oct. 1. Jones was a former resource officer at a high school in Letcher County.
Prosecutors did not comment after the indictment was returned Thursday in Letcher County. Attorneys for Stines did not immediately respond to a phone call and an email seeking comment.Nonpartisan group calls for an end to filing ‘shell bills’ that can turn into sweeping legislationPolice have given no motive for the shooting involving two prominent members of the county bordering Virginia. Whitesburg is 146 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky.
On the day of the shooting, Mullins and Stines met for lunch with several other people at a restaurant near the courthouse, the detective said during the hearing. Stines’ defense team said they left the hearing with more questions than answers and said they were conducting their own “parallel investigation.”
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