Kentucky sheriff resigns after being charged with murder of judge at courthouse | US crime

A Kentucky sheriff charged with killing a local judge in his courtroom resigned Monday.

Shawn Stines, 43, the sheriff in Letcher County, Kentucky, is alleged to have shot state Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, at the local courthouse on September 19.

The motive for the killing is unclear. Stines resigned when Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear threatened to remove him from office.

The decision to resign had nothing to do with the murder charges Stines was facing, his attorney said.

“Sheriff Stines made this decision to allow a successor to continue to protect his beloved constituents while he deals with the legal proceedings before him,” his attorney said in a statement to NBC News.

Stines pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge against him. State police said Stines and Mullins were having lunch before the fatal shooting and got into an argument.

The shooting also came days after Stines was deposed as part of a federal investigation into a deputy who pleaded guilty to raping a female prisoner. An attorney for Stines has denied any wrongdoing in connection with this lawsuit.

“The community is small by nature and we are all shaken,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said at a news conference the day of the shooting. Gayheart added: “We know it was an argument between the two that led to this [to it] – but exactly what happened before the shooting, those are still things we're trying to get answers to.”