A Kentucky sheriff arrested and charged last week with shooting a judge in his chambers following an argument pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines was arraigned before a special judge for first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Judge Kevin Mullins.
Stines appeared virtually from the Leslie County jail, where he has been held since Thursday’s shooting at the Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg, about 217 miles southeast of Louisville.
He was appointed a temporary public defender during the brief arraignment hearing and is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 1.
A motive in the shooting remains unclear. Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart has said that preliminary information indicates that Stines “fatally shot Mullins following an argument inside the courthouse.”
Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. Stines, 43, surrendered to authorities at the courthouse.
The shooting sent shockwaves through the small community. Matt Butler, commonwealth attorney for Letcher County and Mullins’ brother-in-law, called it an “unspeakable tragedy” and said the community was “completely devastated.”
“I always thought he was hilarious. I always thought he was very witty. He was fun to be around outside of court,” Butler said in a video message.
The judge’s mother, Patsy Holbrook Mullins, told NBC News after his funeral service Sunday that she was “very impressed by the outpouring of support.”
Butler recused himself and his office from the case because of his personal relationship with the judge and because one of his staff members was in the judicial court suite at the time of the shooting. The case will be handled by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman and the commonwealth’s attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit Jackie Steele.
