The Kentucky sheriff accused of shooting a judge is retiring, an attorney says

A Kentucky sheriff's attorney accused of fatally shooting a judge in his chambers announced the police officer's resignation Monday after the state's governor threatened to remove him from office.

In a statement, the attorney for Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, said the decision was effective immediately and was not a concession to the first-degree murder charge Stines faces in connection with the April 19 shooting of Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins September was confronted in a courthouse in Whitesburg.

“Rather, Sheriff Stines made this decision to allow a successor to continue to protect his beloved constituents while dealing with the legal proceedings before him,” said attorney Jeremy Bartley.

In a letter Wednesday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's general counsel told Stines he had until Friday to resign or face removal proceedings under a state law that allows governors to fire peace officers for neglect.

Stines pleaded not guilty to the murder charge last week.

A spokesman for the Kentucky State Police, which is investigating the shooting, said the shooting occurred after an argument. Authorities have not identified a possible motive for the killing.

Stines was deposed three days before the shooting on a 2022 federal lawsuit accusing a Letcher County deputy of sexually assaulting a woman in Mullins' office, an attorney for the plaintiff in the case said.

The lawsuit alleged that Stines failed to adequately train and supervise the deputy.

In a filing, an attorney for Stines said he was shielded from a lawsuit related to the allegations because of his position as an elected official and law enforcement officer.

Asked whether state police were investigating a possible connection between the complaint and the shooting, a spokesman for the agency said last week that investigators had not ruled out a possible motive.