Ex-Kentucky sheriff charged in judge's killing may get evaluated for insanity defense
Prosecutors have requested a mental evaluation for a former Kentucky sheriff charged with gunning down a judge in a courthouse last year after his attorneys said they will argue he was emotionally disturbed at the time of the shooting.
The killing rocked the small Appalachian community of Whitesburg, where residents knew Shawn 'Mickey' Stines to be longtime friends with District Judge Kevin Mullins. Prosecutors have presented a video in court of a man police identified as Stines pulling out a handgun and shooting Mullins at his desk on Sept. 19.
Prosecutors with the state attorney general's office filed a motion Monday asking the court to allow a state doctor to evaluate Stines' claim 'that he suffers, or has suffered, from a mental disease or defect or any other mental condition that bears on the issues of guilt and punishment.'
Investigators have not announced a motive for the shooting. Earlier that day, the two men had met for lunch with several other people near the courthouse, police said.
Attorneys for Stines wrote in a motion earlier this month that they plan to present evidence that the ex-lawman suffered from insanity and 'extreme emotional disturbance' at the time he allegedly shot Mullins. Stines' attorneys said they would not raise the issue of whether Stines is mentally fit to stand trial.
'While further evaluation is needed to determine the extent of the mental health evidence ultimately presented, it is our strong belief that our client was operating under extreme pressure that significantly impacted his mental state,' Stines' attorney Kerri Bartley said in an emailed statement.
Stines remains jailed without bond. At a January hearing, special judge Chris Cohron said he would take up the issue of Stines' bond at a later hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder of a public official and resigned days after the shooting.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
Longtime Kentucky firefighter died in powerful storm while shielding his wife from danger
Kentucky firefighter Leslie Leatherman answered the call for help, rushing into harm's way as he steadfastly did for decades, when a late-night tornado plowed through his community in the Appalachian foothills. It was his final act of selflessness, and the person he protected amid the chaos was his wife. Leatherman was among 19 people killed in Kentucky when the storm struck late Friday into early Saturday, as people in the path awoke to a terrifying scene. Most victims were from Laurel County in southeastern Kentucky, where Leatherman was a longtime member of a volunteer fire department. Leatherman, 57, died while shielding his wife, Michelle, from flying debris, said Terry Wattenbarger, deputy chief of the Laurel County Fire Department, where Leatherman served as a major. He was found on top of his wife, Wattenbarger said. Michelle Leatherman survived and was in critical condition Tuesday at the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington, a spokesperson said. Authorities don't know if Leatherman realized it was his wife he was protecting amid the chaos and darkness. Wattenbarger said he thinks it happened right after the tornado had passed, when winds were still strong enough to fling debris into the air. 'She was screaming,' Wattenbarger said in an interview Tuesday. 'I'm sure he went home and then went to the first person he thought he could help. It just happened to be her.' As the storm approached, Leatherman communicated he was ready to assist, Wattenbarger said. When a fire alarm sounded in his neighborhood, Leatherman indicated that he was responding. Soon after that, another firefighter confirmed the tornado was on the ground there and causing massive damage. Emergency workers found the Leathermans early in the response but didn't recognize them in the pitch-black dark, officials said. Leatherman was dead, and they tended to Michelle Leatherman. Leslie Leatherman's location was recorded for later identification, and rescuers moved on to help other victims. A short time later, authorities started searching for Leatherman after he failed to answer radio calls. Emergency responders returned to find his body and make the heartbreaking identification. It was typical for Leatherman to rush into danger to protect others, said Wattenbarger, who struck up a lasting friendship with Leatherman when they were in high school together. 'His entire life, he's been a dedicated public servant," the deputy chief said. "He had a huge heart. He loved his family more than anything … and just truly enjoyed life and was just a really good person.' Leatherman, known fondly as Les, was a constant figure in emergency services for the region. He started as an emergency medical technician in Laurel County, then became an emergency dispatcher, first for Laurel County authorities and then for Kentucky State Police, Wattenbarger said. Most recently, he served as assistant director for the 911 center in neighboring Whitley County. 'He was a very sincere man, very hard working, a very dedicated man,' said Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. 'Somebody that younger people getting into emergency services in this region looked up to and looked to for guidance. He was a great mentor to many of them. We're sure going to miss him.' Leatherman also served as a fire rescue instructor. Brandon Wagers, a member of the London Fire Department and a fellow instructor, said Leatherman's death will be felt throughout the region. 'He was a good person,' Wagers said. 'He always had something good to say.' One constant was Leatherman's nearly 39 years of service as a firefighter. Leatherman 'put his life's blood and life's work into being the best person and best responder he could be,' Wattenbarger said. His death sent shock waves through the close-knit ranks of their fire department. 'We are surviving," Wattenbarger said. "That's the only way we can describe it. People say 'Are you all OK?' No we're not. We're not OK. We're surviving, though, because that's what he would want. We want to honor his legacy as a department.'
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Stunning new video reveals what happened just before judge was shot dead by sheriff best friend
Shocking new surveillance footage captured the moments that led a Kentucky sheriff to shoot his longtime friend and local judge Kevin Mullins in his chambers. The alleged murder unfolded September 19, 2024, when Letcher County Sheriff Shawn 'Mickey' Stines was seen in the footage entering Mullins' office as he sat with several others. Stines and Mullins had been out for lunch together and several of the people in Mullins' office shortly before the shooting, and the sheriff appears to order the others out of the room at the start of the footage. The video, first shared by Fox News, showed Stines confronting Mullins as soon as he enters the room, sitting across from him at the desk and bringing up something on his phone. At one point, Mullins handed his phone across the desk to Stines, before the sheriff takes the phone and attempts to make a call that does not appear to have been answered. Stines briefly looked through the phone before tossing it back on the desk, with Mullins still appearing to try and calmly talk the sheriff down from a rage. The footage then showed Stines stand up and lift his shirt to reveal his gun holstered on his hip, which caused the judge to then take notice and lift his hands up. Prosecutors have charged Stines with first-degree murder, however his attorneys indicated they are preparing to mount an insanity defense in his upcoming trial. The footage offers the clearest look yet at the shocking shooting last year that stunned the small town of Whitesburg, Kentucky, where the two men played important roles in the community. They were known as longtime friends who often ate lunch together, including on the day Mullins was killed. Their familiarity was evident in the footage from inside Mullins' chambers, as the judge sat smoking a cigarette with his legs crossed as Stines grilled him. Although the footage was released without sound, body language expert Susan Constantine told Fox News that it was clear the sheriff 'was ready to go the minute he walked in.' By contrast, Mullins 'is very nonchalant, very carefree', she said, as he sat smoking a cigarette and did not appear to understand the imminent danger he was in. 'The sheriff then leans in, he's obviously got something on his mind because he's in an action stance,' Constantine said. 'I think the fact that [Mullins] is shrugging it off, I think that created more angst towards the judge because he wasn't taking it seriously, whatever was being spoken about, and he's kind of playing it off like it wasn't a big deal... And the more he played it out, 'this is not a big deal,' the more angry Stines became.' 'The judge is kind of going, 'what are you doing?' Put the gun down,' Constantine said. 'Using his hand gestures, kind of flinging him out, like, 'what are you doing?' This doesn't make any sense.' In a sudden move, the judge then puts his hands up by his head, in an apparent reaction to something the sheriff said. The footage ends as Stines allegedly shot Mullins dead as he sat at his desk. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, however Stines' attorneys indicated in court filings in March that they intend to launch an insanity defense. Defense attorney Jeremy Bartley issued a legal filing saying his client's state of mind at the time of the shooting would be key to his upcoming trial. He said the case will hinge on testimony that Stines gave at a deposition days before the September 2024 shooting. That saw the sheriff answer questions about one of his deputies allegedly sexually assaulting jail inmates. An accuser in that case claimed that she was forced by a deputy sheriff to have sex in Mullins' chambers for six months in exchange for staying out of jail. Bartley said Stines feared that backlash from his deposition testimony caused him to fear that his or his family's lives were in danger. The attorney said Stines' 'mental health' was affected by the perceived threat. 'Ultimately, he was in fear for the safety of his wife and his daughter, and I think what you see there is the result of that,' the defense attorney said. Stines' attorney Jeremy Bartlet dismissed rumors that the shooting had anything to do with any relationship between Mullins and his daughter, but said the sheriff was increasingly 'paranoid' about the safety of his family In an interview with Fox News this week, Bartley added that although Stines tried to call his daughter from Mullins' phone, their phone exchange had nothing to do with any relationship between the judge and the sheriff's daughter. He added that Stines received a call from his aunt during his interaction with Mullins in his chambers, which was one of the times he brought out his phone. As he denied rumors of any kind of relationship between Mullins and Stines' daughter, Bartley said his client was experiencing increasing paranoia over the safety of his family at the time, particularly due to the deposition he had just given. 'Specifically, in the approximate two-week period prior to the incident in the judge's chambers, pretty much all the witnesses the investigators talked to support what those close to Mickey had said as well,' Bartley said. 'And that's simply this: Mickey had become extremely paranoid. He'd become sleepless, basically wasn't sleeping. [He] slept little, if at all. He had become sort of withdrawn. 'And you know, it was of such a concern that his co-workers urged him to go to the doctor, and he ultimately did the day prior to the shooting.'
The Independent
12-03-2025
- The Independent
Ex-Kentucky sheriff charged in judge's killing may get evaluated for insanity defense
Prosecutors have requested a mental evaluation for a former Kentucky sheriff charged with gunning down a judge in a courthouse last year after his attorneys said they will argue he was emotionally disturbed at the time of the shooting. The killing rocked the small Appalachian community of Whitesburg, where residents knew Shawn 'Mickey' Stines to be longtime friends with District Judge Kevin Mullins. Prosecutors have presented a video in court of a man police identified as Stines pulling out a handgun and shooting Mullins at his desk on Sept. 19. Prosecutors with the state attorney general's office filed a motion Monday asking the court to allow a state doctor to evaluate Stines' claim 'that he suffers, or has suffered, from a mental disease or defect or any other mental condition that bears on the issues of guilt and punishment.' Investigators have not announced a motive for the shooting. Earlier that day, the two men had met for lunch with several other people near the courthouse, police said. Attorneys for Stines wrote in a motion earlier this month that they plan to present evidence that the ex-lawman suffered from insanity and 'extreme emotional disturbance' at the time he allegedly shot Mullins. Stines' attorneys said they would not raise the issue of whether Stines is mentally fit to stand trial. 'While further evaluation is needed to determine the extent of the mental health evidence ultimately presented, it is our strong belief that our client was operating under extreme pressure that significantly impacted his mental state,' Stines' attorney Kerri Bartley said in an emailed statement. Stines remains jailed without bond. At a January hearing, special judge Chris Cohron said he would take up the issue of Stines' bond at a later hearing. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder of a public official and resigned days after the shooting.
