The small-town Kentucky sheriff who allegedly shot and killed a judge inside his office was acting “in the heat of passion,” his defense attorney said.
Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines, 43, is accused of firing eight bullets at his friend Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, after entering the judge’s chambers at the Lechter County Courthouse on September 19.
He pleaded not guilty to the murder, which has shocked the small town of Whitesburg, and resigned as sheriff.
The video shows Stines pointing his gun at Mullins while his hands are raised and curled behind his desk, but the sheriff’s attorneys insist the killing was not planned.
‘It wasn’t something that was planned and happened in the heat of passion. “For us, the highest level of culpability should be involuntary manslaughter based on a partial defense of extreme emotional disturbance,” said defense attorney Jeremy Bartley. PEOPLE.
Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines (pictured), 43, is accused of firing eight bullets at his close friend, the judge, inside his office.
Stines’ lawyers claim the sheriff acted “in the heat of passion” and that the murder was not planned.
‘We believe there had to be a compelling reason for Sheriff Stines to feel he had to act. “We look forward to gaining additional information and beginning to tell his story.”
Detectives are investigating a possible motive, but the shooting is believed to have unfolded after Stines discovered his daughter’s phone number in Mullins’ phone.
CCTV footage played in court during a preliminary hearing on October 2 showed Stines checking his phone before making a call from the judge.
Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified that he was told the sheriff had tried to contact his daughter from both devices.
As DailyMail.com exclusively reported last month, just hours before the shooting, the sheriff and the judge, who were longtime friends, shared an outdoor table at the popular Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street for lunch, just a few hundred meters from the courthouse. .
The couple were lunchtime regulars at the sports bar and on that fateful Thursday they ordered the usual: They both had wings and salad for $13.99.
Stines is accused of fatally shooting Judge Kevin Mullins (pictured), 54, after entering the judge’s chambers at the Lechter County Courthouse on Sept. 19.
The video shows Stines pointing his gun at Mullins while his hands are raised and curled behind his desk.
“I’m told the judge made a statement to Mickey about, ‘Do we need to meet privately in my chambers?'” Stamper said, according to cnn.
“When they stopped him, one of the other officers told me he made the comment, ‘They’re trying to kidnap my wife and my son.'”
Police allege that Stines entered the judge’s outer office, told court employees he needed to speak with Mullins alone, and then proceeded to shoot him once they entered the inner office.
Stines then emerged with his hands raised and surrendered to the officers, who handcuffed him. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
Mullins was appointed to serve as a judge in the state’s 47th District under former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009. Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
The shooting is believed to have unfolded after Stines discovered his daughter’s phone number in Mullins’ phone.
Stines pleaded not guilty to the murder, which has shocked the small town of Whitesburg, and resigned as sheriff.
Police confirmed they are investigating a “sexual scandal” motive, among other leads, in Mullins’ sensational death.
One thing that was certainly lurking on the mind of Stines, who was a 54-year-old judge’s bailiff before becoming sheriff in 2018, was a civil lawsuit against one of his deputies who was convicted and sentenced for rape.
The 43-year-old sheriff was accused of failing to properly train and supervise former deputy Ben Fields, who forced a woman imprisoned in her home to have sex in exchange for favors, ironically in Judge Mullins’ chambers.
