A video showing the murder of a Kentucky judge in his office was played during Tuesday’s court hearing for former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, who has been charged with the murder.
The short video clip, which was presented by prosecutors, showed the shocking moments in which he allegedly opened fire on District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, on September 19.
The video, without audio, shows a man identified by police as Stines pulling out a gun and shooting the judge as he sat at his desk. The man walked around the desk, pointed the gun at the judge, who had fallen to the floor, and fired again.
Mullins died from multiple gunshot wounds, Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.
Stines pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder at his arraignment last week and is being held in another Kentucky county.
Stamper said Stines and Mullins had had a friendly lunch with a group before the shooting and no witnesses observed anger in their conversation.
The detective indicated that while he was not directly aware of any prior relationship between the couple, he did say he had “heard things” about a lawsuit involving the sheriff’s office.
Stines had been questioned in a lawsuit filed by two womenone of whom alleged that a sheriff’s deputy forced her to have sex inside Mullins’ office for six months in exchange for staying out of jail.
The lawsuit accused the now-former sheriff of “deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise” the officer.
A handful of people were in a room next to Mullins’ office when the shots rang out. Stines was already in custody when he arrived at the courthouse, Stamper said.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Rupert Wilhoit III determined that there is probable cause to believe that Stines committed the crimeallowing the case to go to a grand jury to decide whether to indict Stines.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Stines could face the death penalty.
Keep reading:
– Kentucky sheriff accused of killing a judge in his office could face the death penalty
– Kentucky sheriff shot and killed a judge in his office
–Kentucky Sheriff retires after pleading not guilty to killing judge in his office
