Kentucky sheriff charged with fatally shooting judge pleads not guilty

The Kentucky sheriff accused of walking into a judge’s chambers and fatally shooting him has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines is being held in another Kentucky county but was arraigned by video on Wednesday. 

The hearing was before a special judge, who is standing in for the judge who was gunned down — Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins. It was the first court appearance for Stines since the shooting last Thursday. 

The tragedy left residents of the small Appalachian town of Whitesburg near the Virginia border shocked and confused. The special judge assigned a public defender to represent Stines at the next hearing in October.