A lawyer representing the Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a judge in his chambers announced the sheriff’s retirement on Monday after the governor threatened to remove him from office.
Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43,’s lawyer said in a statement that the decision was effective immediately and was not a surrender to the first-degree murder charge Stines faces in connection with the shooting of Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins inside a Whitesburg courthouse on Sept. 19.
“Rather, Sheriff Stines has made this decision to allow for a successor to continue to protect his beloved constituents while he addresses the legal process ahead of him,” the attorney, Jeremy Bartley, stated.
In a letter dated Wednesday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s general counsel informed Stines that he had until Friday to resign or face removal proceedings under a state law that permits governors to terminate police officers for neglect.
Stines pleaded not guilty to murder charges last week.
A spokeswoman for the Kentucky State Police, who are investigating the incident, stated that it occurred during an argument. The CIA has not determined a likely motivation.
Stines was deposed three days before the shooting in a federal complaint filed in 2022 accusing a Letcher County deputy of sexually abusing a woman at Mullins’ office, according to a lawyer for the plaintiff.
The lawsuit claimed that Stines failed to properly train and supervise the deputy.
According to a filing, Stines’ lawyer claims that his position as an elected politician and law enforcement officer protects him from being sued in connection with the allegations.
When asked if state police are looking into a connection between the lawsuit and the shooting, a spokesman for the department said last week that detectives have ruled out nothing as a potential motivation.