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Governor Beshear officially requests Letcher County Sheriff to resign

Gov. Andy Beshear explaining his decision to ask Letcher Co. Sheriff Mickey Stines to resign
Office of Gov. Andy Beshear
Gov. Andy Beshear explaining his decision to ask Letcher Co. Sheriff Mickey Stines to resign

Governor Andy Beshear has officially asked Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines to resign his position.

Stines is being held in the Leslie County Detention Center on a murder charge. He is accused of shooting and killing Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins last week.

During a press conference on Thursday, Governor Beshear said, given the situation, Letcher County, effectively does not have a sheriff.

  “The facts that we all know, regardless of motive, which will be determined through the criminal investigation, show that the current sheriff cannot continue in that current role and what I am trying to do is get Letcher County a sheriff that can be active, as quickly as possible.”

Governor Beshear’s office sent a letter to Stines, giving him until Friday to resign. If he does not, the governor said he is prepared to take measures to have Stines removed from the position.  

“It’s not been done, I think in at least several decades, it looks like it would take about 6 months even at the fastest it can go. It is important to say it’s not a criminal trial, it’s about determining, under certain statutes whether removal is appropriate.”  

Governor Beshear said, in this case, he knows removal is appropriate.

Stines plead “not guilty” to the first-degree murder charges earlier this week.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Morgan County.

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Stan Ingold is WEKU's News Director. He has worked in public broadcasting for 18 years, starting at Morehead State Public Radio before spending the past 10 years at Alabama Public Radio. Stan has been honored with numerous journalism awards for his public radio reporting.
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