Video shown at preliminary hearing shows fatal shooting of Letcher Co. judge

WEST LIBERTY, Ky. (LEX 18) – Video shown at the preliminary hearing for the former Letcher County sheriff accused of killing a county judge allegedly showed the fatal shooting.

Today's hearing for Shawn “Mickey” Stines took place in Morgan County.

Stines is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Sept. 19 shooting of Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins in a courthouse judge's chambers.

Special prosecutor Jackie Steele played a video in court that investigators said showed Stines shooting Judge Mullins multiple times and said Mullins had his hands raised in the video.

Additionally, Detective Clayton Stamper testified that Mullins and Stines were seen in surveillance videos on their phones. He also testified that shortly before the shooting, Stines tried to call his teenage daughter along with Mullins' cell phone. Those phones were sent to a forensic lab for data retrieval, but Stamper confirmed that Stines' daughter's number was in Mullins' phone.

Detective Stamper also testified that Mullins and Stines had lunch at a restaurant near the courthouse on the day of the shooting and that Mullins asked Stines, “Do we need to meet privately in my rooms?”

The judge sent the case to a grand jury, which will decide whether to indict Stines.

Stines has been in prison since the shooting and announced his resignation on Monday.