(LEX 18) — Former Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, charged with the murder of District Judge Kevin Mullins in September, appeared before a judge Friday morning for a status hearing.
Stines has pleaded not guilty in the case after Mullins was shot and killed on Sep. 19.
A judge made this recommendation via Zoom.
"We get the order entered in regards to competency and criminal responsibility."
That order would go through the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center. Stines, being held in the Leslie County Detention Center, was indicted by a Letcher County Grand Jury on one count of murdering a public official. His attorney, Jeremy Bartley, specifically addressed the issue of criminal responsibility.
"Our expert should be able to participate in the proceedings at KCPC," Bartley said.
Commonwealth's Attorney Jackie Steele took issue with Bartley's request.
"I'm not comfortable doing a criminal responsibility if he's going to have an expert on that position unless we know the issues they are raising in the criminal responsibility with our expert," Steele said.
While Steele feels comfortable getting the criminal responsibility order in, he wants the process to play out with these conditions:
"Their expert if they've already conferred with him, if he's already done an examination, needs to get that report in before the KCPC responsibility issue's done," Bartley noted.
The judge said he will move ahead with the competency and criminal responsibility orders, addressing the timing of the reports, whose present and when, at a later date.
As for the issue of bond, no bond was set for Stines at his arraignment in November.
Friday, Bartley asked the judge to take the matter of bond under advisement.
"In whatever form the court would like for us to raise that issue," Bartley said.
The judge told him to set a time for a formal motion on bond. No date has been set to address that, but the judge says that hearing will take place in person.
The judge also reiterated that this is the first of a few status hearings in this case.
