Last month, surveillance video of a Kentucky judge being shot to death in his waiting room was shown during a hearing in the case of the sheriff accused of murder.
Onlookers screamed as the video was played in a Morgan County courtroom last week. WDKY-TV reported.
“Everything seemed to be going well between them. There was no clue that anything was wrong.”
You can watch surveillance clips of the shooting here;The actual shots fired are omitted and are included in a larger video report of the shooting.
According to WDKY, former Letcher County Sheriff Sean “Mickey” Stines appeared before a judge last Tuesday afternoon for a probable cause hearing. Stines, 43, shot and killed District Judge Kevin Mullins in a Whitesburg courtroom on September 19, according to state police.
Image source: Letcher County Sheriff's Office Facebook page (left). letchercounty.ky.gov (right)
Stines turned himself in after the shooting and was charged with first-degree murder. The New York Times reportedThat's what the police said.
Stines, who is accused of shooting Mullins eight times, has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
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.
Stamper testified that the call was for Stein's daughter, according to the Courier-Journal. The Courier-Journal reported that Stamper added that the cellphone had been sent to a forensic team for examination, adding that her daughter's cellphone had not been examined. Stamper also said Stein's daughter's phone number was saved on the judge's cell phone and she called him before the shooting, the Courier-Journal reported.
However, Officer Matt Gayhart of the Kentucky State Police told WDKY: another story Contrary to what was said in court, investigators won't know whether Stein's daughter's number was on Mullins' phone until the forensic report comes back several weeks later. However, the department noted that call records showed a call had been made to her number before the shooting.
The shooting is particularly interesting because Stein and Mullins have reportedly been friends for decades. 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.
Stein's attorney also said the charges against his client are manslaughter, given Stamper's testimony that the shooting was the result of “extreme mental turmoil” and that there was no evidence the shooting was planned. He argued that it should be reduced to a crime.
According to court documents, the defense established probable cause at a hearing last Tuesday, and the case will be tried by a grand jury, WDKY reported.
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