Former Letcher County sheriff's murder case: See a timeline of events

Less than a month since a Kentucky sheriff was arrested at the scene of a district judge's fatal shooting, the murder case against Shawn "Mickey" Stines is now in the hands of a grand jury for a potential indictment.

The then-sheriff, who has since stepped down from his post, is accused of fatally shooting District Judge Kevin Mullins in his private chambers at the Letcher County Courthouse late September. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, with his attorney hinting at a possible defense strategy just this week.

Here's a timeline of what has happened since the fatal courthouse shooting and where the case currently stands:

Prior to the fatal shooting in Whitesburg, the two men were known to be friends for many years, according to local residents interviewed by The Courier Journal.

Stines, 43, is from Neon, Kentucky, and resides in McRoberts, an unincorporated community in Letcher County, according to his Facebook account. Stines had served as a bailiff in Mullins' court for several years before he was elected sheriff in 2018.

Mullins, 54, lived in nearby Jenkins, about 15 miles east of Whitesburg on Kentucky's border with Virginia. Beginning in 2001, Mullins served as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Letcher County. He was appointed to the position of judge of the 47th Judicial District, which presides over Letcher County, in 2009 by former Gov. Steve Beshear. He was formally elected to the position that following year, election records show.

On Sept. 19, just before 3 p.m., Kentucky State Police received a report of shots fired inside the Letcher County Courthouse.

The Letcher County Coroner’s Office pronounced the judge dead at the scene.

No one else was injured, and Stines surrendered himself to police without incident. He was arrested at approximately 3 p.m. and booked in the Leslie County Detention Center, about an hour's drive away from Letcher County.

Letcher County courts invoked an emergency order to cease operations that day "until court operations can be resumed," according to the Kentucky Court of Justice website.

The county's circuit and district courts and Office of Circuit Court Clerk all closed and no court filings were accepted for the day. Operations have since resumed.

About a week after the shooting, Stines virtually attended his arraignment while he was jailed at the Leslie County Detention Center, about 50 miles east of Whitesburg. Stines, who faces a murder charge in the case, pleaded not guilty.

While he appeared at the hearing with representation from public defender Josh Miller, Stines would later hire a private attorney, Jeremy A. Bartley.

Commonwealth's Attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit Jackie Steele serves as prosecutor after Letcher County Commonwealth's Attorney Matt Butler recused himself due largely to family ties with Judge Mullins.

Following pressure from Gov. Andy Beshear, Stines announced his resignation from his role as sheriff — a position he'd held for about half a decade — just a day ahead of his afternoon court appearance at the Morgan County Judicial Center.

The week prior, Beshear had formally requested Stines to resign in a letter from his council. While Beshear's letter asked for a resignation, the Kentucky governor said if Stines didn't step down, he'd "move forward with removal" under a state statute that allows it in instances of neglect.

At Stines' following in-person court appearance, the prosecution played a shocking video of Mullins' fatal shooting inside the judge's private chambers. In the short clip, a man, who police identified as the former sheriff, is seen firing multiple times at Mullins as the judge attempted to hide behind his desk.

This preliminary hearing also introduced new information about the events leading up to the fatal shooting.

Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper, the case's lead investigator, testified in court that the two men went to lunch earlier in the day with multiple other people, where a witness allegedly heard Mullins ask Stines if they needed to meet privately. The context of that request was unclear.

Video footage places Stines and Mullins inside the judge's chambers later that day, according to investigators. In his testimony, Stamper said Stines subsequently made phone calls from his own phone as well as Mullins'. Those calls, Stamper testified, were to Stines' daughter. The video shown at the Oct. 1 hearing did not include audio and did not show the calls.

After those calls were placed, police say Stines committed the shooting.

The phones have been sent to forensic teams for examination, Stamper said, though Stines' daughter’s phone had not been examined at that time. The daughter has been interviewed by authorities, Stamper said.

While the case has moved forward to a grand jury on the charge of murder, Stines' team may be gearing up for a legal defense of manslaughter.

In an interview with People Magazine, Stines' attorney, Bartley, said 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' next court date has not yet been announced.