Ex-sheriff Shawn 'Mickey' Stines accused of killing Judge Kevin Mullins, shooting breaks out at Kentucky courthouse

A former Kentucky sheriff accused of killing a district judge in his chambers two months ago is due in court for a hearing Monday; The suspect will return to the Letcher County courthouse for the first time since the shooting there.

Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, pleaded not guilty Shooting death of Letcher County District Judge Kevin MullinsHis killing stunned their small community. Stines, then the county sheriff, has since resigned.

A grand jury has formally indicted onetime lawman Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman and Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele, whose offices jointly prosecuted the case, on charges of murdering a public official, it was announced Thursday.

However, the indictment does not shed new light on the possible motive for the attack.

If convicted, Stines could face the death penalty.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

On Monday, Stines will appear in court for the first time since a preliminary hearing early last month, when the judge found probable cause to refer the case to a grand jury. This hearing was held while the Letcher County courthouse was temporarily closed, 100 miles from where Mullins was killed.

Authorities went to the Letcher County courthouse on the afternoon of Sept. 19 and found Mullins, 54, suffering from a gunshot wound, Kentucky State Police said. Stines surrendered to authorities at the scene.

At last month’s hearing, prosecutors played security camera footage from Mullins’ chambers that showed him crouching behind the judge’s desk as a man identified as Stines shot him multiple times. As Stines prepares to leave the room, he sees Mullins moving under his desk and fires several more shots.

Defense attorneys did not deny Stines shot Mullins but argued that a first-degree manslaughter charge would be more appropriate than murder, arguing that he was in the midst of “extreme emotional distress.”

Surveillance video, which was not shown in court, shows the former sheriff calling his daughter on her phone before asking to see Mullins’ phone, which the judge gave to a Kentucky State Police Detective. Clayton Stamper testified at last month’s hearing.

Stamper, who shows the entire video showing Stines opening fire seconds after looking at the judge’s phone, stated that Stines tried to call his daughter from both phones. Stamper said phone records show a call had previously been made from the judge’s phone to Stines’ daughter.

Stamper said both men were eating lunch with a group before the shooting. While no witnesses observed any anger between them, witnesses told investigators of one conversation:

“I was told the judge asked Mickey, ‘Do we need to meet privately in my office?'” Stamper said. “It was said that he made a statement like this,” he said.

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