### Letcher County Sheriff Pleads Not Guilty to Murder of Judge

A small rural community in southeastern Kentucky is grappling with shock and uncertainty after Sheriff Shawn Stines, known locally as Mickey, appeared in court facing first-degree murder charges for the fatal shooting of Judge Kevin Mullins.

Sheriff Stines, 43, made his initial court appearance virtually on Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty. The incident allegedly occurred last Thursday in Judge Mullins's chambers within the Letcher County Courthouse, situated in Whitesburg near the Virginia border. The sheriff reportedly shot the judge multiple times following a brief argument. Law enforcement officials have yet to disclose a motive, leaving many details shrouded in mystery.

The 10-minute arraignment was presided over by Chief Regional District Judge H. Rupert Wilhoit. Sheriff Stines, currently held in Leslie County jail, attended the hearing virtually, standing between his public defender, Josh Miller, and Danny Clark, the Leslie County jailer. This distant arrangement highlighted the complexities of the case.

Matt Butler, the commonwealth's attorney for Letcher County, recused himself from prosecuting due to his professional and familial connections with both the defendant and the victim. Consequently, the prosecution is being handled by the Kentucky attorney general and Jackie Steele, the commonwealth attorney for two other eastern Kentucky counties.

A significant portion of the hearing dealt with the matter of Stines’s legal representation. Steele questioned the involvement of a public defender, given Stines’s financial situation. Sheriff Stines revealed he owns a home and real estate in Tennessee valued at $45,000 and has an annual income of $115,000. Miller argued that the high cost of defending a capital murder case and Stines’s impending job loss justified the need for a public defender, at least temporarily.

Judge Wilhoit allowed Miller’s office to continue representing Stines until his next court appearance, scheduled for Tuesday in Morgan County. However, the judge suggested that Stines might need to hire private counsel after this preliminary hearing.

The Letcher County Courthouse has remained closed since the shooting, and the community of about 21,000, historically reliant on the coal industry, is struggling to come to terms with the event. Mike Watts, the county's circuit court clerk, who witnessed Sheriff Stines and Judge Mullins heading to lunch together hours before the shooting, expressed bewilderment over the incident. Security footage exists but Watts declined to elaborate on its contents.

Judge Mullins, who was 54, had a longstanding career in public service, having been appointed to the bench in 2009 and re-elected multiple times. Sheriff Stines was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. Earlier this month, Stines was deposed in an unrelated case involving a former deputy accused of misconduct, for which the sheriff denied any culpability.

In the wake of this tragedy, Governor Andy Beshear has called for Sheriff Stines to resign by Friday, adding another layer of urgency and distress to an already fraught situation.