The executive director of the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association said he spoke to Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines the week before Stines allegedly murdered District Judge Kevin Mullins. Jerry Wagner said Stines attended the annual sheriff’s association conference in Bowling Green and he saw nothing unusual in his behavior. He said he’s known Stines since he was elected sheriff in 2018.
“I had him in a new sheriff's training school when he first got elected. I have him in his annual in- service every year. He's a very soft-spoken gentleman. Never seen him out of the way in any way. I just, I mean, it's just, it's all unbelievable to me.”
Before becoming executive director of the sheriff’s association, Wagner was Fleming County sheriff for 17 years. He said in Kentucky, court bailiffs are paid by the sheriff’s offices and he, like most sheriffs, worked with judges his entire law enforcement career.
“That's probably one of the biggest part of our jobs, because not only do we work with them during the week, but we work with them in the evenings and over the weekends and all that, because there's always domestic issues, or, you know, search warrants, whatever the case may be.”
Stines will be arraigned by a special judge in Carter County Wednesday morning. The hearing will be conducted via Zoom.
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