Letcher County sheriff appears in court, pleads not guilty

CARTER COUNTY, Ky. (WJHL) — The Letcher County sheriff appeared in court Wednesday to be arraigned on his first-degree murder charge after his alleged killing of district judge Kevin Mullins .

Sheriff Shawn Mickey Stines appeared over Zoom in court at 11 a.m. At the arraignment, Judge Rupert Wilhoit appointed Stines a public defender for the time being based on the circumstances of the case.

Stines pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He will appear back in court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. in Morgan County, Kentucky.

The full arraignment can be watched above.

On Sept. 19, Stines was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after the shooting death of Mullins in the Letcher County Courthouse.

Kentucky State Police (KSP) reports an argument occurred between Stines and Mullins before the shooting. Mullins was reportedly shot several times and died at the scene.

Despite his arrest, Stines remains the sheriff. Jamie Hatton, the county attorney for Letcher County, told News Channel 11 that Stines must resign from the elected position or else the county must execute procedures to have him removed from the role.

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