The Kentucky sheriff accused of shooting and killing a district judge in his courtroom chambers pleaded not guilty to first degree murder on Wednesday. Letcher County Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines, 43, appeared for the first time in public after the shooting last week, alongside a public defender. Stines is being held at a jail in Leslie County, and appeared by video link before a judge. The sheriff reportedly shot District Judge Kevin D. Mullins, 54, multiple times in his chambers last week before surrendering to authorities without incident. Mullins was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. Stines faces up to life in prison if found guilty, and could potentially face the death penalty for killing a public official. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent Stines a letter in jail asking him to resign from his post as sheriff, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. The governor plans to “move forward” with removing Stines from office. Investigators have not revealed a motive for the shooting, and locals in Whitesburg, Kentucky told the Courier-Journal Mullins and Stines were friends and colleagues—with the sheriff previously serving as the judge’s bailiff.
