Stunning court exhibition of the captured footage showing the Kentucky judge's gunning down, served as evidence, propelling the sheriff's homicide case towards a grand jury consideration.
Shawn "Mickey" Stines, 43, who recently resigned as the sheriff of Letcher County and was in court for a hearing, was seen in a jail uniform and handcuffs as the prosecution presented evidence regarding his alleged involvement in the murder of District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54.
Judge Rupert Wilhoit deemed there to be sufficient reason to put the first-degree murder charge before a grand jury. The defense lawyers did not deny that Stines was the one who shot Mullins, but contended that Stines was dealing with an "extreme emotional distress" at the time of the incident.
"I believe they've established probable cause for manslaughter first, but not murder," defense attorney Jeremy Bartley told the judge during the hearing.
Stines pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge during his arraignment last week.
A clip from the judge's chambers' surveillance video, which does not have sound, seems to depict Mullins hiding behind his desk as Stines fires multiple shots. Before exiting the room, Stines appears to notice Mullins moving again and fires additional shots.
As the video played, Stines turned away from the screen and then looked down. Audible sobs and moans came from the gallery, located on the prosecution side of the courtroom.
The video was only displayed for 20 seconds in court, but the Kentucky State Police confirmed that the full footage, which wasn't shown, was much longer.
Stines and Mullins had lunch together with a group prior to the shooting, and no witnesses reported any tension in their conversation, according to Clayton Stamper, the only witness who testified at the hearing and a Kentucky State Police detective. However, witnesses at the lunch reported that Mullins had suggested meeting privately in his chambers.
The prosecution did not provide a motive for the shooting, but Stamper testified that Stines had spoken on his own phone to his daughter and then requested to see Mullins' phone, which the judge agreed to.
The full video, according to Stamper, shows Stines standing up and beginning to shoot only seconds after looking at Mullins' phone.
"I was informed that Sheriff Stines had tried to contact his daughter using both his own phone and the judge's phone," said Stamper. He also confirmed that phone records indicated that the judge's phone had previously called Stines' daughter's phone.
Stines surrendered himself to law enforcement shortly after the shooting, and made a puzzling statement, according to Stamper.
"One of the other officers present reported that Stines said, 'They're trying to kidnap my wife and kid,'" said Stamper.
By the time Stines reached the shooting scene, according to Stamper, he was "primarily calm," and only asked that he be treated fairly.
The hearing was held in West Liberty, Kentucky, which is approximately 100 miles away from the Letcher County Courthouse where Mullins was murdered.
Since Mullins was the one who would typically preside over preliminary hearings for crimes in Letcher County, a special judge was appointed to oversee the case.
The hearing took place the day after Stines' resignation as sheriff was made official, as confirmed by a letter from Stines' attorneys obtained by CNN affiliate WKYT.
"Sheriff Stines has decided to step down to allow for a new leader to safeguard his dedicated constituents while he deals with the legal situation awaiting him," Bartley, the defense attorney, wrote in the letter.
During Stines' arraignment last week, Wilhoit informed him that he could face the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree murder.
After their lunch together, Stines and us (the group they had lunch with) parted ways without any apparent tension.During the hearing, Bartley, our (Defense's) attorney, argued that there was probable cause for manslaughter, but not murder.
