Inthedetails
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So, it's the amount of everyone in the Sheriff's office combined, not just his individual amount? That makes a huge difference.
jmo
Kentucky - Judge killed, sheriff arrested in Letcher County courthouse shooting - Sep. 19, 2024
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jmo
Seattle1
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Curiouser and curiouser....
Marital, family problems?
Lawsuits are just part of the job, and case law proves suing the Sheriff in the official capacity of being Sheriff, just means suing the County Government. And he did have a lawyer on this matter since January 2022, and had been scheduled numerous times for deposition by the Plaintiff only to be repeatedly canceled.
Stines had also been sued in March 2019 -- both Individually and in his official capacity by a former Sheriff Deputy, and won at summary judgement.
Here, the former member of the Sheriff's Department was let go by Stines predecessor due to budget constraints. Plaintiff alleged her civil rights violated because Stines didn't re-hire her after he took office, citing retaliation because she openly and aggressively supported his opponents during his 2018 bid for Sheriff.
Ex-deputy sues new sheriff, who denies all claims - The Mountain Eagle
A former Letcher County Deputy Sheriff has filed suit in U.S. District Court against Sheriff Mickey Stines, claiming he retaliated against her for campaigning against him in the election. Stines denies all the allegations. Alisha Congleton, who served as a deputy for four years, was a sergeant...
www.themountaineagle.com
nerosleuth
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I don't know why the link isn't working even though I retype it hoping that the above link would work.
Just go to the WTVQ-TV website to read this news article on their website.
RANCH
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Letcher County sheriff pleads not guilty at arraignment - WTVQ
Circuit Judge Rupert Wilhoit accepted the plea from the bench in the Carter County Courthouse just after 10:00 am.
www.wtvq.com
".The Kentucky sheriff accused of first-degree murder in the death of a district court judge entered a not guilty plea Wednesday...
..Stines also did not comment on the charges during the hearing, but Judge Rupert Wilhoit asked him about his finances after Stines confirmed he wanted a court-appointed attorney.
The judge expressed skepticism about whether Stines, who said he owns two homes and earns $115,000 as sheriff, was truly indigent.
“Sir, it’s my understanding that he is in the process of losing his job as sheriff of Letcher County, obviously, and will not have income going forward,” public defender Josh Miller told the judge."
Rbm
Well he's prob. not indigent !
Why does the taxpayer, John Q. Public, need to fund his defense ?
Can't they seize some of his assets ?
I'd say 'garnishment' but that's prob. only going forward--as in, garnishing wages to be made in the future ?
Why does he need two homes ?
Is one a vacay cabin ?
As for the 2nd bolded : Well boo-freaking-hoo ... Stines shouldn't have murdered someone then.
Smh.
Kentucky sheriff charged with killing judge pleads not guilty to murder charge
Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines made his first court appearance in the fatal shooting of District Judge Kevin Mullins on Wednesday.
www.cbsnews.com
"...Stines and Mullins ate lunch together hours before the shooting, according to Circuit Court Clerk Mike Watts ..."
Hmm.
Everything was fine and dandy, then ?
Doubt it.
This action seems less spur of the moment and more like a cleverly hidden grievance on Stine's part.
Which was why he waited and spoke with Mullins' in the judges' chambers.
Cameras present, maybe.
But no witnesses.
Imo.
Omo.
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We can infer quite a bit from the audit report:
Deputies' gross salaries $86,745
Court security $71,090
Office gross salary $73,796
KLEPPF $13,773
School resource officer $39,580
Now, this is all speculation but I'm going to guess that there is one school resource officer and that person probably makes a little less than a regular deputy. I';m guessing the the court security is bailiffs who also make about the same.
That suggests a deputy makes a little over $40,000 and there are 2 of them. A bailiff makes $35000-ish and there are two, one for the district judge and one for the circuit judge. Office gross salary is probably an admin assistant and a dispatcher. KLEPPF is a training fund run by the state so presumably the sheriff office received that much from the state and paid it out in training.
This is all just a guess and has some flaws. Foe example, to have 24-7 dispatch you would need to cover 3x7=21 shifts per week. One person covers 5 so you would need 4 dispatchers to cover. Maybe they have a central dispatch paid for by the county.
Seattle1
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When researching the 2018 and 2022 elections in Letcher County, I was shocked at the number of positions that are elected in KY including the "Jailer!"
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Seattle1
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Kentucky sheriff accused of killing judge enters plea
Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines was arraigned in court Wednesday morning.
9/25/24
Much of Wednesday’s arraignment focused on whether Stines qualifies to have a public defender appointed to him. Stines said he hadn’t hired an attorney or spoken to any about taking his case.
In a case like this, attorney costs could range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The judge did approve of a public defender for the time being.
The judge said if the case proceeds to circuit court, Stines may be required to hire his own counsel.
A date for a preliminary hearing was set for Tuesday, October 1, at 1 p.m. at the Morgan County Judicial Center in West Liberty. The judge says Kentucky State Police will be responsible for transporting Stines to the hearing.
His wife was in the zoom call.
From your link (thanks for that find, @tlcya !) :
Also from these links :
Kentucky sheriff pleads not guilty in shooting death of district judge
An eastern Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a district judge appeared in court Wednesday.
nbc24.com
Sheriff accused of killing judge inside his court chambers pleads not guilty
Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines is facing a charge of murder in last week’s shooting death of District Judge Kevin Mullins.
I don't see a 40-lb weight loss compared to earlier photos of Stines.
Omo.
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I don't disagree with you in principle but he has no significant assets to seize. He has a small house in McRoberts KY valued at about $50,000 and a mobile home on a small lot in TN. He also has a checking account. This was all stated in the court hearing linked in the original message.
Oh, ok. Thanks for clarifying.
Seattle1
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'...cannot guarantee since it is hard to reach out to people he needs to since he is in jail.'
Relative to Stines comment above, I do know there are several State Constitutions which provide for all criminal defendants in custody. held without bail, automatically qualify for a public defender, without any formal application or consideration of their financial ability to hire their own attorney.
In other words, you could be a millionaire but if you are being held without bail, you are entitled to a public defender. This rule remains in place only if and until the suspect is released from custody. Once out of custody, and for whatever reason returns to jail, a defendant previously appointed a public defender will have to apply and meet the county/state guidelines to be appointed a public defender.
The rationale here is recognizing anybody NOT being held in custody can freely shop for a lawyer. MOO
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IceIce9
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Also, he doesn’t have a mortgage on his home. If I didn’t have a mortgage I could put some serious funds into my retirement account.
IceIce9
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Yes- several years ago my dad and I were traveling through Kentucky and there were candidate signs everywhere. For Sheriff, jailer, and judge. Not being from Kentucky my dad inquired of our server why “jailer” was an elected position.When researching the 2018 and 2022 elections in Letcher County, I was shocked at the number of positions that are elected in KY including the "Jailer!"
He said, “The sheriff brings ‘em in, the judge locks ‘em up, the jailer keeps ‘em locked up.”
Seattle1
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Not true. In KY, a felon can't enter a guilty plea at this level. This is allowed in Circuit Court so he still has time to change his plea. Today's hearing went as expected. See early link on the subject.
Seattle1
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I think the fact that Letcher County only has one District Court Judge had something to do with Mullins not recusing himself on an unrelated case. Calling on another Judge to come from another County to hear a low level criminal matter would be a burden to the community of less than 2000 residents. That and the fact the criminal defendant here was already prosecuted and sentenced. These victims were not new to the system, and had likely appeared before Mullins for years. I'm not particularly impressed by the plaintiff's attorney who seems put out that he's not personally receiving a warm welcome in Letcher County. JMO
Seattle1
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I agree -- and the Chief Deputy has already been appointed to act as the Sheriff. Stines was also asked to formally resign by Friday, and I don't have any reason to believe he won't do so.
Seizing Assets?
snipped for focus. @Chimera
Trying to follow ^ line of thought.
1. Assuming "they" refers to Commonwealth of KY, or a dept., agency, or entity,
on what legal basis would "they" have authority to seize any of MS's assets?
2. Would ^ seizure be made to secure payment for private atty to rep MS in this crim case? Or for some other purpose?
If I'm misunderstanding the Q in ^ post, my apologies.
ETA: IDK why my post is in all blue & bold. can't seem to edit formatting.
___________________________________________
Garnishment. Yes, gen'ly occurs only following a judgment w a ct order for a specific amt.
"... a court ordered process for collecting on a judgment, which takes money directly from the defendant’s wages or other third party who owes the defendant a debt. A garnishment order instructs a third-party who owes money to the defendant, typically the defendant’s employer or the defendant’s bank, to pay some or all of that money to the plaintiff instead of the defendant. This third party is called a garnishee."
^ garnishment from Wex (lli)
See also Garnishment - Wikipedia
snipped for focus. @Chimera
Trying to follow ^ line of thought.
1. Assuming "they" refers to Commonwealth of KY, or a dept., agency, or entity,
on what legal basis would "they" have authority to seize any of MS's assets?
2. Would ^ seizure be made to secure payment for private atty to rep MS in this crim case? Or for some other purpose?
If I'm misunderstanding the Q in ^ post, my apologies.
ETA: IDK why my post is in all blue & bold. can't seem to edit formatting.
___________________________________________
Garnishment. Yes, gen'ly occurs only following a judgment w a ct order for a specific amt.
"... a court ordered process for collecting on a judgment, which takes money directly from the defendant’s wages or other third party who owes the defendant a debt. A garnishment order instructs a third-party who owes money to the defendant, typically the defendant’s employer or the defendant’s bank, to pay some or all of that money to the plaintiff instead of the defendant. This third party is called a garnishee."
^ garnishment from Wex (lli)
See also Garnishment - Wikipedia
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Angelcat13
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If Stines killed Mullins because he was afraid Mullins “had dirt” on him that could ruin him (job, family, reputation, etc) I would have expected him to either do it privately where he thought he could get away with it (i.e. make it look like an accident or that someone else was responsible) or, if he did it in the public manner like he did, that he would take his own life so he wouldn’t have to face the consequences.
Killing the Judge in such a public manner and then waiting at the scene to be arrested makes it seem (to me) like he WANTS his reasons to be revealed. These “reasons” could be REAL or perceived.
I just don’t see someone committing such a public homicide and sticking around for what he KNOWS will follow in the Court and publicly, if he was trying to hide something he was guilty of.
I’d love to see what others here think because these are just my thoughts. I just feel like if I wanted so badly to keep a horrible secret about my own bad deeds that I would kill someone to keep my secret, I wouldn’t kill someone in such a public manner and stick around for the consequences knowing that all my dirt will now become public.
Killing the Judge in such a public manner and then waiting at the scene to be arrested makes it seem (to me) like he WANTS his reasons to be revealed. These “reasons” could be REAL or perceived.
I just don’t see someone committing such a public homicide and sticking around for what he KNOWS will follow in the Court and publicly, if he was trying to hide something he was guilty of.
I’d love to see what others here think because these are just my thoughts. I just feel like if I wanted so badly to keep a horrible secret about my own bad deeds that I would kill someone to keep my secret, I wouldn’t kill someone in such a public manner and stick around for the consequences knowing that all my dirt will now become public.
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