Attorneys for a former Eastern Kentucky sheriff charged with murder want to keep his trial in the region, while prosecutors want the trial to be held hours away.
Shawn “Mickey” Stines is charged with the 2024 murder of Letcher County Circuit Judge Kevin Mullins in his courthouse chambers.
Earlier this month, Special Judge Christopher Cohron approved the commonwealth’s motion for a change of venue. Prosecutors said the pretrial publicity surrounding the case would prevent Stines from receiving a fair trial.
Wednesday, however, Stines’ attorneys filed a memorandum urging the trial to be held in one of four counties adjoining Letcher, with a preference for Pike County.
They cited Pikeville’s proximity to Whitesburg – about an hour away – and the availability of lodging and other accommodations.
Prosecutors would prefer the trial take place in Warren, Christian or Daviess counties.
Their county seats – Bowling Green, Hopkinsville and Owensboro – are four to five hours to the west, well outside the three media markets that converge in Letcher County. Those are Lexington; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Huntington, West Virginia.
Prosecutors say news coverage of the case in those markets has been “extensive.”
In their memorandum, Stines’ attorneys argue social media makes traditional media coverage less relevant. The case has garnered national and international attention.
The three Western Kentucky counties have larger populations and a larger pool of potential jurors, prosecutors counter. They are less likely to have been “bombarded” with media coverage of the case, prosecutors say.
Warren County, with nearly 150,000 residents, is the fourth most populous county in Kentucky. Fewer than 55,000 people live in Pike County. Letcher County has about 20,000 residents.
After his 2024 indictment, Stines pleaded not guilty to one count of murder of a public official.
