Kentucky - Judge killed, sheriff arrested in Letcher County courthouse shooting - Sep. 19, 2024 # 2

[ch_13]

It appears to me that KY allows the State to request a change of venue.

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=19487

When a criminal or penal action is pending in any Circuit Court, the judge thereof shall, upon the application of the defendant or of the state, order the trial to be held in some adjacent county to which there is no valid objection, if it appears that the defendant or the state cannot have a fair trial in the county where the prosecution is pending. If the judge is satisfied that a fair trial cannot be had in an adjacent county, he may order the trial to be had in the most convenient county in which a fair trial can be had.

My feeling is that it is going to be extremely hard to find an unbiased jury in Letcher County. The population of the whole county is only 20K, so it's a pretty small pool to start with. Then to find enough people who've have no biases and have expressed no opinions publicly about Stines guilt or innocence will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I think this is especially true after broadcasting the shooting video. IMO it was a huge mistake. Instead of tamping down speculation and gossip, it just turned things up.

 

[MollyDDD]

Would they drug test him when he was arrested? Curious about that.

It’s hard to know how things work in a good ol’ boy network. IMO

 

[Seattle1]

Do we know -
WHO installed the cameras?
WHEN were they installed?
WHY were they installed?
WHO KNEW THEY WERE THERE? (Especially did MS and/or KM know?)
Was the footage being reviewed on a regular basis?
If so, WHO was reviewing the footage?

Perhaps a FOIA or equivalent request from the County requesting the 2022 meeting minutes and budget where such request for camera and installation would be approved and funded. JMO

Letcher County

www.letchercounty.ky.gov

 

[MollyDDD]

I have edited 4) to more closely fit the descriptors used by others. Stines was described as more quiet/taciturn, He also stopped updating the sheriff dept FB page and announced he would not run again for sheriff. He was described as not seeming himself in the weeks leading up to the deposition.


Not sure what I think about drugs playing a role but I think it is a valid thing to consider in light of behavior changes and the self reported extreme weight loss.

Maybe we’ll learn what was going on with him personally, but the bottom line is, he committed a murder and nothing justifies that. IMO

 

[MollyDDD]

I am mainly basing her denial off of the sexual abuse on what was written on their . Even though it was written by her aunt, I am assuming that the wife and daughter have given their approval and are monitoring it. This would mean, IMO, that the SIL’s statements are also reflection of her own. The wording has made sure to include the word ‘we’ in it. Furthermore, the aunt has also indicated through messaging and tagging the wife and daughter when a new inquiry had to be investigated that they are of both well aware of what was written and are part of the decision-making process as seen when the donations aims changed from helping MS with legal fee and transportation to only supporting his wife and daughter. In other words, it is not just SIL and mom communicating through the posts but the daughter too in my opinion.

On the other hand, others could say the statement is a lie or not a reflection of the daughter but I wouldn’t understand the benefit of doing that legally as LE are investigation all aspects and possible motives of the case and if sadly sexual abuse did occur and it was motivated MS to commit murder, denying it now wouldn’t help her or their husband/father/BIL who is quiet possibly facing a trial and potentially the death penalty. JMO

I’ll just wait for her to be sworn in, seated on the witness stand and tell the truth.

 

[MollyDDD]

Seriously, I find these comments are being taking out of context, and now we are going off the rails, directly due to the circumstances! This is a weekly publication (Mountain Eagle) where the Sheriff probably wanted to be the spokesperson for his small department. It's unfortunate that the Letcher County Sheriff FB was taken down where this was clearly evident. Seems people are forgetting this is a KY town with a population of less than 1800, and a county under 20K!

MSM sources are out there. Perhaps reading/listening to quotes by somebody like the Clerk of Court (Mike Watts) who worked closely with both Stines and Mullins for decades and considered both men close friends can provide a better perspective to state of mind of both men at the time of the shooting than unnamed sources who after the fact surface to say Stines not himself. I think the Mayor another good source. Details from people who would truly know whether or not Stines was acting himself or not. MOO

I agree. It seems like it’s an attempt by some, to create a sudden “mental problem defense” for his actions. IMO

 

[MollyDDD]

If you read the lawsuit you will see that Stines is named in his OFFICIAL capacity. He had no personal risk. The county also has insurance.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/65590626/adkins-v-fields/

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. IMO

 

[tagurit12]

I really believe the Sheriff knows about more corruption going on and the Judge is involved. Not everything is as it seems. There has been corruption in many small departments...Also how would a deputy have access to judges chambers for sex are you kidding me and the Judge doesn't know it's going on Seriously there is more behind the scenes!!!

 

[Seattle1]

My feeling is that it is going to be extremely hard to find an unbiased jury in Letcher County. The population of the whole county is only 20K, so it's a pretty small pool to start with. Then to find enough people who've have no biases and have expressed no opinions publicly about Stines guilt or innocence will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

I think this is especially true after broadcasting the shooting video. IMO it was a huge mistake. Instead of tamping down speculation and gossip, it just turned things up.

^^BBM

Personally, I have limited experience with the states using criminal grand jury indictments but for this very reason of not prejudicing or tainting the jury pool with the direct evidence of the shooting of Judge Mullins by Mickey Stines already previewd by the nation, I prefer charges brought by information and complaint, and where statute generally provides a felony murder defendant a true preliminary hearing within 30 days of arraignment, and not the probable cause hearing we actually witnessed for this case (deemed a preliminary hearing).

IMO, a preliminary hearing for probable cause to bind the case over for trial where the defense has the right to cross examine to test the plausibility of the witnesses would have preserved the video from public release, and probably been more equitable to the defense.

Also, I've never had a problem with the probable cause affidavit being sealed until the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, and the case bound over for trial. I think investigators already have have an extremely difficult job to get the details together -- give them and the prosecutor a break before being stormed for the next three years by Media and the public! MOO

 

[RANCH]

I really believe the Sheriff knows about more corruption going on and the Judge is involved. Not everything is as it seems. There has been corruption in many small departments...Also how would a deputy have access to judges chambers for sex are you kidding me and the Judge doesn't know it's going on Seriously there is more behind the scenes!!!

What is your opinion based on?

 

[MollyDDD]

I think if the civil suit plaintiff believed or could substantiate that Stines KNEW and failed to act about the in chambers extracurriculars Fields was up to that would have been part of their complaint and they would have more counts against Stines than just he should have known and must have failed to train Fields not to SA people. JMO

I wonder how difficult it would be for a plaintiff to substantiate the inner dealings of a high ranking official in a good ol’ boys network?

 

[KonaHonu]

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. IMO

Perhaps. But he got a fire-proof suit when he was elected sheriff

 

[ch_13]

^^BBM

Personally, I have limited experience with the states using criminal grand jury indictments but for this very reason of not prejudicing or tainting the jury pool with the direct evidence of the shooting of Judge Mullins by Mickey Stines already previewd by the nation, I prefer charges brought by information and complaint, and where statute generally provides a felony murder defendant a true preliminary hearing within 30 days of arraignment, and not the probable cause hearing we actually witnessed for this case (deemed a preliminary hearing).

IMO, a preliminary hearing for probable cause to bind the case over for trial where the defense has the right to cross examine to test the plausibility of the witnesses would have preserved the video from public release, and probably been more equitable to the defense.

Also, I've never had a problem with the probable cause affidavit being sealed until the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, and the case bound over for trial. I think investigators already have have an extremely difficult job to get the details together -- give them and the prosecutor a break before being stormed for the next three years by Media and the public! MOO

As far as I'm concerned they could've played the video at the probable cause hearing, but just not let the tv cameras show it to the broadcast audience. Allowing it to be seen on tv is what polluted the jury pool.

Censoring the tv feed happens in actual trials all the time. It's common for crime scene photos, autopsy photos, disturbing videos and the like to all be displayed in a way that they are visible to those inside the courtroom but not shown on television.

 

[MollyDDD]

If Stines knew about the bailiffs criminal acts and failed to stop those acts by arresting him, would Stines be guilty of criminal conspiracy?

Not sure about this so just asking.

Only if someone was willing to stick their head out and tell on him. IMO

 

[MollyDDD]

Perhaps. But he got a fire-proof suit when he was elected sheriff

Perhaps with some other perks too. IMO

 

[KonaHonu]

As far as I'm concerned they could've played the video at the probable cause hearing, but just not let the tv cameras show it to the broadcast audience. Allowing it to be seen on tv is what polluted the jury pool.

Censoring the tv feed happens in actual trials all the time. It's common for crime scene photos, autopsy photos, disturbing videos and the like to all be displayed in a way that they are visible to those inside the courtroom but not shown on television.

I agree with you. But they did not just show it on the TV feed, they released it. I'm not sure to whom but the videos we've all seen online are much clearer than the TV feed.

 

[MollyDDD]

Do we know -
WHO installed the cameras?
WHEN were they installed?
WHY were they installed?
WHO KNEW THEY WERE THERE? (Especially did MS and/or KM know?)
Was the footage being reviewed on a regular basis?
If so, WHO was reviewing the footage?

And WHO, if anyone, got a kickback for looking the other way?
Inquiring minds wanna know!

 

[Seattle1]

As far as I'm concerned they could've played the video at the probable cause hearing, but just not let the tv cameras show it to the broadcast audience. Allowing it to be seen on tv is what polluted the jury pool.

Censoring the tv feed happens in actual trials all the time. It's common for crime scene photos, autopsy photos, disturbing videos and the like to all be displayed in a way that they are visible to those inside the courtroom but not shown on television.

True, except it always gets leaked. We've seen this already in the variance of the video here between the views we first saw during the preliminary hearing, and the video views that are currently out today. JMO

ETA: The prelim hearing here was not leaked it was released.

 

[MollyDDD]

I read the complaint, and one thing that stood out to me is that it alleges that all of the sexual contact occurred in the judge's chambers because there were no cameras there. Were there no cameras at the courthouse entrances or in the halls? Second, the deputy routinely visited the plaintiff at her residence as part of his job, but apparently there were no sexual encounters at that location. The judge's chambers don't look like a comfortable spot for those activities. Third, the ankle monitor remained primarily at the courthouse. Was anybody monitoring it other than making sure it was in place on court dates?

This just seems like an unnecessarily complex (and risky) scenario. There may be a reason it was done this way related to sheriff department protocols and I am over-reading too much into this.

Maybe it is two unrelated crimes both occurring in the same judge's spartan chambers, but I have a feeling they are somehow related. The basic weakness in this argument is how this would related to the calls to the sheriff's daughter immediately prior to the killing. I suspect we will not know what happened until the trial.

Security cameras??? Ha! Needless to say, things were pretty relaxed and probably overlooked more than we know. IMO

“The Letcher County Courthouse is one of the last that you can walk into without a metal detector or security at the front door,” said Matt Butler, commonwealth’s attorney for Letcher County, in a video statement Friday. “This is unacceptable in 2024. It was unacceptable when I started in 2007.”

 

[Seattle1]

If Stines knew about the bailiffs criminal acts and failed to stop those acts by arresting him, would Stines be guilty of criminal conspiracy?

Not sure about this so just asking.

Don't you think if this was true that Stines would have been criminally indicted by the grand jury during the nine month independent investigation by the OAG in 2022? This would have sent Stines to prison, and the plaintiffs could have amended their civil complaint with real evidence instead of an empty allegation. Just sayin..