A Kentucky sheriff charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a judge pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a case that has shaken the small rural community of Letcher County.
Sheriff Shawn Stines, also known as Mickey, made his first court appearance as a defendant in the case at his virtual arraignment. He is accused of fatally shooting Judge Kevin Mullins last Thursday in his chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg.
Law enforcement officials have not disclosed a motive. And the hearing before Chief Regional District Judge H. Rupert Wilhoit did not yield any clues.
During the 10-minute proceeding, Sheriff Stines appeared onscreen standing between Josh Miller, a public defender, and Danny Clark, the county jailer for Leslie County, where Mr. Stines is being held.
Sheriff Stines’s next court appearance, a preliminary hearing, has been scheduled for Tuesday in Morgan County, about an hour and a half north of Letcher County.
The Kentucky State Police said last week that Sheriff Stines, 43, and Judge Mullins, 54, argued briefly in the judge’s chambers before the sheriff shot him multiple times. Sheriff Stines then surrendered to the police.
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