Mickey
Stines
Last
month,
the
small
town
of
Letcher
County,
Kentucky,
was
rocked
by
the
shocking
murder
of
District
Judge
Kevin
D.
Mullins.
Immediately
it
was
clear
to
authorities
who
was
behind
the
death:
Letcher
County
Sheriff
Mickey
Stines
was
arrested
the
same
day.
But
without
a
definitive
motive
for
the
crime,
intrigue
was
sparked
and
the
speculation
has
run
rampant.
At
a
preliminary
hearing
earlier
this
week,
several
details
emerged.
We
know
that
Mullins
and
Stines
ate
lunch
together
the
day
of
Mullins’s
death.
According
to
Kentucky
State
Police
(KSP)
Detective
Clayton
Stamper,
several
other
people
were
in
attendance
at
the
business
lunch,
and
one
overheard
Mullins
ask
Stines
if
they
needed
to
meet
privately
in
his
chambers.
The
hearing
also
featured
a
disturbing
video
of
the
shooting.
The
surveillance
video
shows
Stines,
moments
before
the
shooting,
using
his
phone
to
call
someone,
then
using
Mullins’s
phone.
Stamper
testified
that
both
calls
were
made
to
Stines’s
daughter,
and
the
daughter’s
phone
number
was
saved
on
the
judge’s
phone.
Stamper
also
testified
that,
when
arrested,
Stines
made
a
comment
that,
“They’re
trying
to
kidnap
my
wife
and
kid.”
After
the
hearing,
Stines’s
attorney,
Jeremy
Bartley,
commented,
“I
left
the
hearing
today
with
a
lot
of
questions
still
unanswered
myself.
We
hoped
that
there
may
be
more
light
that
would
be
shed
on
the
preceding
events.”
Since
the
shooting,
Stines
resigned
from
his
position
as
sheriff.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].