A Kentucky sheriff arrested and charged final week with capturing a decide in his chambers following an argument pleaded not responsible Wednesday morning.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines was arraigned earlier than a particular decide for first-degree homicide in reference to the deadly capturing of Judge Kevin Mullins.
Stines appeared just about from the Leslie County jail, the place he has been held since Thursday’s capturing on the Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg, about 217 miles southeast of Louisville.
He was appointed a short lived public defender throughout the temporary arraignment listening to and is due again in courtroom for a preliminary listening to on Oct. 1.
A motive within the capturing stays unclear. Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart has stated that preliminary data signifies that Stines “fatally shot Mullins following an argument contained in the courthouse.”
Mullins, 54, was shot a number of instances and died on the scene. Stines, 43, surrendered to authorities on the courthouse.
The capturing despatched shockwaves by the small group. Matt Butler, commonwealth legal professional for Letcher County and Mullins’ brother-in-law, referred to as it an “unspeakable tragedy” and stated the group was “fully devastated.”
“I at all times thought he was hilarious. I at all times thought he was very witty. He was enjoyable to be round exterior of courtroom,” Butler stated in a video message.
The decide’s mom, Patsy Holbrook Mullins, advised NBC News after his funeral service Sunday that she was “very impressed by the outpouring of assist.”
Butler recused himself and his workplace from the case due to his private relationship with the decide and since one among his employees members was within the judicial courtroom suite on the time of the capturing. The case will probably be dealt with by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman and the commonwealth’s legal professional for the twenty seventh Judicial Circuit Jackie Steele.