A Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a district judge in his waiting room two months ago was charged with murder Thursday.
Prosecuting attorney Jackie Steele said she could not comment on the alleged motive after a grand jury returned the indictment, but police previously said that Sean “Mickey” Stines, then Letcher County Sheriff, and Judge Kevin Mullins had announced that they had been arguing just before the September trial, but the 19th shooting, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported..
“Everything seemed to be going well between them. There was never a clue that anything was wrong. I never would have imagined there would be the slightest problem.”
Judge Julia H. Adams received the indictment and set Stines' arraignment for next Monday, the newspaper said.
Stines turned himself in after the shooting and was charged with first-degree murder. The New York Times reportedThat's what the police said. He retired from the sheriff's office less than two weeks after the shooting.
Stines, who is accused of shooting Mullins eight times, has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
The shooting was captured on surveillance video. Can view surveillance clips here;The actual shots fired are omitted and are included in a larger video report of the shooting. Spectators in a Morgan County courtroom screamed as the video was played during a hearing last month. WDKY-TV reported.
Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified that the full video of the shooting shows Stines using his own phone to make multiple calls and then using the judge's phone to make another call. . The Louisville Courier-Journal reported.He added that gunfire continued.
The Courier-Journal reported that Stamper testified that the call was for Stines' daughter, and that Stines' daughter's phone number was on the judge's cell phone and that she had called him before the shooting. Stamper also said Stines got up from his chair in the judge's chambers after looking at Mullins' cell phone and shot him seconds later, the Herald-Leader reported.
The shooting is particularly interesting because Stein and Mullins have reportedly been friends for decades.
Image source: Letcher County Sheriff's Office Facebook page (left). letchercounty.ky.gov (right)
Additionally, the two went to eat lunch at Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street several hours before the shooting. daily mail Reported. A restaurant employee told the magazine that Stein and Mullins ordered their usual lunch. Both came with chicken wings and salad.
“Everything seemed fine between them. There was no clue that anything was wrong,” the employee said. “I never would have imagined there would be the slightest problem.”
WDKY said a woman who allegedly works for the Letcher County Sheriff's Office also gave investigators her cell phone for examination, and Stamper said she was one of Stines' employees and that she was not contacted by Stines about the case. He added that he testified that he believed he had received a text message stating the contents of the text. We had lunch and headed out to take pictures.
Stamper said in cross-examination that Stines “was told by one of the other officers present that when he was taken into custody, he made the comment, “They're trying to kidnap my wife and child.'' WDKY added.
More from the Herald-Leader:
If Stines is convicted, the crime could carry the death penalty because Mullins was a public servant. Steele, who is prosecuting the case for Attorney General Russell Coleman's office, said he has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty if Stines is convicted. However, Stynes' attorney Jeremy Bartley said he did not believe murder was the appropriate charge in the case.
Mr Bartley said at the hearing on October 1 that evidence presented there showed that Mr Stines fired the gun in response to what he saw on Mullins' cell phone, causing “extreme emotional turmoil”. He said it shows.
There was no information about the content of the phone call during the hearing. If the jury finds that Stines acted out of extreme mental turmoil, he cannot be convicted of murder, but rather of first-degree manslaughter or a lesser charge. It will be. In that case, the death penalty would not be an option.
You can view the video report here Thursday regarding the murder indictment.
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