Ex-Kentucky sheriff admits taking pictures decide, plans madness protection: report

A former Kentucky sheriff accused of gunning down a sitting decide inside his courthouse chambers has admitted to pulling the set off, based on newly filed courtroom paperwork, whereas his protection strikes to lean closely on an madness argument because the case heads in direction of trial.

Shawn “Mickey” Stines, who resigned as Letcher County sheriff after the September 2024 killing, admitted within the submitting that he shot District Judge Kevin Mullins throughout a confrontation within the Whitesburg courthouse, based on courtroom paperwork obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader. 

The video, with no audio, confirmed a person recognized by police as Stines pulling out a gun and taking pictures on the decide, who was seated at his desk. The man walked across the desk, pointed the gun on the decide and repeatedly shot him. Stines has been charged with first-degree homicide and homicide of a public official.

The admission comes as the previous sheriff’s attorneys have labored to ascertain that Stines was affected by “excessive emotional disturbance” previous to the taking pictures, suggesting his authorized workforce is making ready a broad madness protection, the outlet reported.

KENTUCKY JUDGE KILLED IN CHAMBERS ACCUSED OF TRADING SEXUAL FAVORS FOR INFLUENCE AT WILD PARTIES

Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines seems over on the prosecutors throughout his arraignment on the Morgan County Courthouse in West Liberty, Ky., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Stines is accused of killing District Judge Kevin Mullins. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

In a doc written a couple of days after the taking pictures, a social employee who met with Stines in jail stated he had remained in “an energetic state of psychosis” and didn’t seem to know the felony cost in opposition to him. Stines had “episodes of combativeness which has required pepper spray,” the Associated Press reported.

In a deposition Stines gave investigators within the days main as much as the taking pictures, he claimed to have been affected by dizziness, complications, sweating and reminiscence loss introduced on by California encephalitis, a neurological illness ensuing from bug bites, the Herald-Leader reported. 

Prosecutors haven’t commented on the newest filings. Stines’ authorized workforce has argued {that a} portion of his psychological analysis ought to stay sealed, a place that the decide not too long ago upheld.

Stines resigned as sheriff days after the taking pictures and is being held with out bond in jap Kentucky.

EX-SHERIFF ACCUSED OF SHOOTING JUDGE IN CHAMBERS SAYS STATE SKIRTED LAW, SHOULD TOSS MURDER CASE: REPORT

District Judge Kevin Mullins was killed by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines in his decide’s chambers, authorities stated. (Kentucky Court of Justice ;Letcher County Sheriff’s Office)

Under Kentucky regulation, proof of psychological incapacitation or excessive emotional misery might take the dying penalty off the desk in Stines’ case, the Herald-Leader reported. However, a defendant’s requirements of intent reportedly differ in civil circumstances, with Mullins’ widow submitting a wrongful dying lawsuit in opposition to Stines and three different Letcher County Sheriff’s Office staff in September. 

Kimberly Mullins and the couple’s two kids are reportedly accusing Stines of assault and battery, whereas alleging that three different sheriff’s staff didn’t warn or shield the decide from Stines, who was displaying indicators of being anxious, violently paranoid and psychotic. 

On Nov. 12, Stines admitted to taking pictures Mullins in his reply to the civil lawsuit, including that he was “exhibiting paranoid and psychotic conduct,” based on the Herald-Leader. 

VICTIMS OUTRAGED AFTER OHIO JUDGE RELEASES MAN CHARGED IN MULTIPLE CLEVELAND ASSAULTS

Judge Kevin Mullins, sitting at his desk wearing a swimsuit, fingers his telephone over to Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines shortly earlier than being shot lifeless in his personal chambers. (Kentucky State Police)

Stines’ attorneys reportedly moved to dismiss the case beneath the sovereign immunity doctrine, which shields authorities officers from civil legal responsibility claims whereas appearing of their official capability. They additionally requested a decide to dismiss the negligence claims in opposition to him, citing the accusation should present proof of intent. 

“As Sheriff, he was a county worker and, subsequently, is entitled to the identical sovereign immunity granted to the County itself,” his attorneys wrote, based on the Herald-Leader. “Based on this, the official capability claims in opposition to Shawn Stines have to be dismissed.”

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Additionally, Stines’ attorneys reportedly detailed a doable protection they may use to painting their shopper’s mind-set in the course of the alleged killing, insisting that he “had no management,” and was affected by “pre-existing situations.” 

Stines’ attorneys didn’t instantly reply to Fox News Digital’s request for remark. 

Last week, a decide reportedly denied two motions to dismiss the felony costs in opposition to Stines, together with his attorneys saying prosecutors by no means knowledgeable the grand jury of their shopper’s psychological state when the crime was dedicated and that the continuing was deliberately not recorded.