Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines is currently in jail, facing a murder charge in the shooting death of District Judge Kevin Mullins last month inside the county courthouse.
At a court hearing last week where attendees were shown footage of the shooting , Judge Rupert Wilhoit found probable cause that Stines pulled the trigger on Sept. 19 and allowed the case to go to a grand jury. But Jeremy Bartley, the attorney hired to represent Stines, argued the ex-sheriff should be facing a different charge — first-degree manslaughter.
In an exchange with Wilhoit toward the end of the Oct. 1 hearing preliminary hearing in Morgan County, Bartley said he believes evidence he's seen, including testimony that afternoon from Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper, indicates the shooting was a result of "extreme emotional disturbance."
That language is included in Kentucky's statute defining manslaughter . A person is guilty of that class B felony under a number of circumstances, including if they kill someone while trying to injure someone else or kill someone under circumstances that don't constitute murder because they're acting "under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance."
In Kentucky, a class B felony is punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison, while a murder conviction can range from 20 years in prison up to a life sentence. The death penalty is also in play, though Kentucky has not executed an inmate since 2008 and a court injunction has banned executions since 2010 .
The video shown in court earlier this month does not include audio and showed only the shooting, a 24-second clip that showed a man identified as Stines firing repeatedly at Mullins inside the judge's courthouse office before leaving the room. He surrendered to police minutes later at the scene.
But during testimony, Stamper said the events that took place directly before that clip, which were also captured on video but have not been made public, show Stines using his own phone to call his daughter and then using the judge's phone to call his daughter.
Bartley questioned Stamper about the calls in court but declined to speculate on how it may be relevant in comments to reporters after the hearing. Still, he said he believes "what happened in the moments prior to what they've shown are just as important as the portion we saw."
"I left the hearing today with a lot of questions still unanswered myself," the attorney said that afternoon. "We hope that there may be more light that will be shed on the preceding events. But again, this is district court, it's a preliminary hearing, and we certainly look forward to addressing the entire version."
Bartley could not be reached for further comment Wednesday. But he told People Magazine the shooting "occurred in the heat of passion" and said he believes "the highest level of culpability should be manslaughter based on the partial defense of extreme emotional disturbance."
Stines is still currently charged with one count of murder in the case. Commonwealth's Attorney Jackie Steele, who's prosecuting the case alongside Attorney General Russell Coleman's office, did not dispute Bartley's statement in court but noted the hearing was only to establish probable cause that Stines intentionally shot and killed Mullins. Wilhoit agreed and sent the case to a grand jury before adjourning.
A motive for the killing has not been made public , but it wasn't a random shooting. Mullins and Stines had known each other for years.
Stines served as a bailiff in Mullins' court before he was elected sheriff in 2018. Mullins had been in his role since he was appointed by then-Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and won an election the following year. Both men were from Letcher County and have family members who live in the community.
Stines is also a defendant in an ongoing federal lawsuit that alleged he did not properly train and supervise a deputy who traded favorable treatment to multiple women on house arrest in exchange for sexual favors several years ago inside Mullins' private chambers, where there were no cameras at that time. Mullins was not accused of wrongdoing in that case, and attorneys for the plaintiffs have said they don't know whether the lawsuit was a factor in the shooting.
Stines' next court date in the murder case has not yet been set, as the grand jury has not yet served an indictment. He pleaded not guilty in an initial hearing last month and has since resigned as sheriff of Letcher County, in southeastern Kentucky on the border with Virginia.
Coverage from Letcher County: 'We are truly hurting': Judge's killing, sheriff behind bars leaves Whitesburg shaken
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Manslaughter or murder? Attorney comments hint at likely defense in Kentucky judge shooting
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