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

[Elley Mae]

No sentence, as it is a civil trial.

If he is/was guilty of that charge would he have lost his job as sheriff.?

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

No sentence, as it is a civil trial.

Thinking similarly here too @Parsnip …. and the bigger problem might have been what might have been revealed or disclosed? And have to wonder - IIUC reports on the phones….. perhaps one had cued the other that they had received something on their phone? And the other then says…. me too? And then realization we better compare? Yet didn’t one or both realize that a video camera would be running? Even if no audio? And there was a supposed deposition or something for the sheriff next week IIRC? Pure speculation on my part until more becomes apparent. MOO

 

[acehard]

Kentucky has death penalty and executed someone in 2008

 

[al66pine]

Smoked in His Own Chambers?

Wiki can be changed/edited by anyone. Clearly IMO someone has already been editing the Lechter County Wiki page.

@tlcya Thx for your post. Yes, aware that wiki pages are only as reliable as wiki users & cited sources. On county's website I did not see mention of either county official announcing retirement, prompting me to post earlier.

I found an edit to the county's WIKI page just since I posted about an hour ago.
The ¶ about Sheriff is the same, except that one sentence was added (still attributing the source as the county's WEBSITE):

"Stines smoked a judge in his own chambers. [a][60]"

With that kind of wording, I'm thinking a local(ish?) wagster is behind the edit re Sheriff and is laughing from a safe distance.
Not funny imo.
ETA. Not saying the wagster has any connection to the shooting, or the judge or sheriff.

 

[Parsnip]

If he is/was guilty of that charge would he have lost his job as sheriff.?

Idk. But it’s not about “guilty” so much as liable. I have not looked at the codes there, but there are often requirements for public officials to adhere to certain moral standards. That could be at play. But we also learn d that the Sheriff was planning to retire. So…if he were fired because of certain moral expectations, maybe it’s possible that he could lose his pension and retirement benefits? Idk. All speculation.

 

[Elley Mae]

Idk. But it’s not about “guilty” so much as liable. I have not looked at the codes there, but there are often requirements for public officials to adhere to certain moral standards. That could be at play. But we also learn d that the Sheriff was planning to retire. So…if he were fired because of certain moral expectations, maybe it’s possible that he could lose his pension and retirement benefits? Idk. All speculation.

Sheriff retire? 43 yrs old.

 

[Parsnip]

Sheriff retire? 43 yrs old.

“Retire” can mean a lot of different things. It doesn’t mean you never have to work again. It might just mean that you are fully vested in the retirement program for your union. Lots of federal workers, for example, “retire” after 20 years of service. Most of them do not collect retirement at that time; rather, they defer retirement payments until they are 62 or 65 and have entirely different careers (public or private sector) in the meantime.

 

[Bounceycat]

Excuse me for barging in when I've only read the first few posts, but I checked wiki on Letcher County, KY.* for a bit of background.
Mostly some general info below, re local government.

The stmt in second ¶ below --- Mullins being the District Judge, "until Sept. 2024" ---caught my attn, as it is attributed to info on the county website, retrieved MAY 2024. Retrieved in MAY?

Confusing, but maybe just me. I need to go back to beginning of thread, as the timing may make sense w info in other posts.

These two ¶s are from wiki: Letcher County, Kentucky - Wikipedia

"Sheriff
"The sheriff has the responsibility to collect taxes, election duties, provide service to courts, and enforce laws. The sheriff has the ability to make arrests within their county, and collect taxes from properties, the county, and school districts. The current sheriff is Democrat Mickey Stines.[a][60]"
^ 60. "Letcher County". www.letchercounty.ky.gov. Retrieved May 10, 2024"

"District judge
"The district judge manages juvenile issues, city and county laws, misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, probate of wills, arraignments, domestic violence and abuse, and small civil issues. Until September 2024, the district judge was Kevin R. Mullins.[62]"
^ 62. "Letcher County". www.letchercounty.ky.gov. Retrieved May 13, 2024.

"Retrieved" refers to the link/URL and when it was last accessed successfully by Wikipedia.

 

[Elley Mae]

“Retire” can mean a lot of different things. It doesn’t mean you never have to work again. It might just mean that you are fully vested in the retirement program for your union. Lots of federal workers, for example, “retire” after 20 years of service. Most of them do not collect retirement at that time; rather, they defer retirement payments until they are 62 or 65 and have entirely different careers (public or private sector) in the meantime.

I live close to lot’s of federal employee’s past/present, the #’s were 30/55.

30 years in 55 years old out.

 

[Parsnip]

I live close to lot’s of federal employee’s past/present, the #’s were 30/55.

30 years in 55 years old out.

For some. Not all.

 

[PrairieWind]

If he is/was guilty of that charge would he have lost his job as sheriff.?

No. He was being sued as the Sheriff. It is a civil matter and not even against him as an individual. Had the case gone to trial and jury found the Sheriff's Office liable or partially liable, there would have been a monetary judgment that the County or its insurance would pay. He is an elected official so he couldn't be fired. Might not get re-elected.
I think this is about something else.

 

[Elley Mae]

No. He was being sued as the Sheriff. It is a civil matter and not even against him as an individual. Had the case gone to trial and jury found the Sheriff's Office liable or partially liable, there would have been a monetary judgment that the County or its insurance would pay. He is an elected official so he couldn't be fired. Might not get re-elected.
I think this is about something else.

Yeah, I’m kinda doing the process of elimination.

 

[Kudzuu]

Whatever was on those phones will tell the story. If it was text or pics trading phones would reveal who the messages were from. The sheriff is in his early 40's. He probably has kids.

This MOO. But think about what would make a man kill another man knowing he will go to jail for life or get the death penalty. It was overkill.

Certainly some kind of awful betrayal.

 

[PrairieWind]

I find it interesting that the Sheriff killed the Judge and then immediately surrendered. He did NOT kill himself.

 

[al66pine]

KY. Criminal Homicide Statutes.

MURDER
507.020 Murder.
"(1) A person is guilty of murder when:

"(a) With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person; except that in any prosecution a person shall not be guilty under this subsection if he acted under the influence of extreme
emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant's situation under the circumstances as the defendant
believed them to be. However, nothing contained in this section shall
constitute a defense to a prosecution for or preclude a conviction of
manslaughter in the first degree or any other crime; or

"(b) Including, but not limited to, the operation of a motor vehicle under
circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, he wantonly
engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and
thereby causes the death of another person.

"(2) Murder is a capital offense."

^ https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=19717
________________________________
FWIW
KY. Rev. Statutes, Chap. 507, includes MURDER & OTHER homicide offenses:

Chapter 507. Criminal Homicide
".010 Definitions for chapter.
.020 Murder.
.030 Manslaughter in the first degree.
.040 Manslaughter in the second degree.
.050 Reckless homicide.
.060 Vehicular homicide.
.070 Murder of a first responder."

^ Kentucky Revised Statutes - Chapter 507

 

[tara83]

Whatever was on those phones will tell the story. If it was text or pics trading phones would reveal who the messages were from. The sheriff is in his early 40's. He probably has kids.

This MOO. But think about what would make a man kill another man knowing he will go to jail for life or get the death penalty. It was overkill.

Certainly some kind of awful betrayal.

I really don't even care why he did it. Nothing would ever justify it IMO.

 

[Kudzuu]

I really don't even care why he did it. Nothing would ever justify it IMO.

In no way was I trying to justify the killing. Guilt is not the question. Motive is.

 

[slowpoke]

It’s unknown if the civil lawsuit has anything to do with Thursday’s shooting, but:

“Pillersdorf confirmed that during Stines’ eight-hour deposition Monday, just days before the shooting, the sheriff appeared to be angry, agitated and defensive.”

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/mid-south/kentucky-sheriff-judge-shooting-lawsuit/

 

[Dre]

Mullins wasn’t the judge for the civil suit- but the criminal acts happened in Mullins’ judges quarters… could he have thrown the Sheriff under the bus during the investigation?

 

[nerosleuth]

Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 27th Judicial District Jackie Steele told WYMT that Stines will appear in Carter County Circuit Court for an arraignment on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 11 a.m.

Stines is currently lodged at the Leslie County Detention Center. Steele said the hearing could be hosted on Zoom.

Arraignment set for Letcher Co. sheriff

Mickey Stines will appear for an arraignment next week.

www.wymt.com

WYMT-TV also reported that Stines could face 20 to 50 years or life in prison if he is convicted on the murder charge.