'extremely Paranoid' Kentucky Sheriff Questioned By Police Moments After Judge's Fatal Shooting: Video

FIRST ON FOX: Bodycam footage of erstwhile Letcher County, Kentucky Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines obtained by Fox News Digital shows nan Kentucky State Police (KSP) questioning Stines conscionable minutes aft he allegedly changeable and killed District Judge Kevin Mullins successful his chambers.

In nan constabulary interview, taken successful nan hallway of nan Letcher County Courthouse, wherever nan shooting occurred, a "paranoid" Stines continually insisted that constabulary aliases personification other was astir to termination him, a belief which his defense lawyer told Fox News Digital was a contributing facet successful nan shooting connected Sept. 19, 2024.

The erstwhile sheriff, wearing jeans and polo garment emblazoned pinch his title connected it, was handcuffed and seated connected a chair while being questioned. Throughout nan interview, his legs shook and he appeared to scan his situation for imaginable threats. 

A Kentucky State Police trooper and erstwhile Letcher County Sheriff's lawman tries to calm Stines down during questioning.  (Kentucky State Police)

KENTUCKY SHERIFF SEEN IN FOOTAGE SHOOTING AT JUDGE IN SHOCKING PRELIMINARY HEARING

He answered fewer questions astir what happened that day, arsenic astir of nan question and reply was spent trying to quell his fears. 

During nan constabulary questioning, Stines asked to beryllium jailed successful Letcher County, specified steps distant from nan courthouse, alternatively than consequence being transported to different facility. 

"I time off this building, I won't tie different breath," he told KSP Investigator Clayton Stamper, who led nan investigation. 

Former Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, left, sits handcuffed while being questioned by Kentucky State Police Investigator Clayton Stamper, right. (Kentucky State Police)

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When informed that jailing him successful Letcher County would break protocol, a truth that officers noted he should understand fixed his position arsenic sheriff of nan county, Stines was told that he would beryllium taken to nan Leslie County Jail, astir an hr away. 

"I'll ne'er make it to nan Leslie County Jail," he told police. "Put maine successful nan Leslie County Jail, I'll get killed there. I'll get killed successful immoderate jail."

Police continually reassured Stines that cipher was going to wounded him, but those reassurances fell connected deaf ears. 

"Mickey, why do you deliberation we're going to do thing to you?" Stamper asked. "Why would we wanna wounded you?" 

Mickey Stines walks pinch Kentucky State Police Investigator Clayton Stamper toward nan Letcher County Jail, wherever a conveyance waits to return him away.  (Kentucky State Police)

"Well, personification connected nan measurement [to nan Leslie County Jail], if y'all extremity and fto personification connected nan way," Stines said.

"Look, I cognize that this is evidently a very crappy situation, but I guarantee you we person nary intentions of harming you whatsoever," Stamper said.

To assuage his fears, constabulary agreed to let KSP Trooper Jason Bates, a erstwhile Letcher County lawman whom Stines has known for years, thrust him to Leslie County. 

Bates besides joined successful nan question and reply successful an effort to calm Stines. 

Stines, however, still couldn't shingle his fears. 

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"Come on, beryllium adjacent to maine now," he said to Stamper. "I seen nan look… Y'all travel connected now, don't termination me. Don't punish me, you know. Let's beryllium fair. Don't sprout me, thing for illustration that."

When constabulary were yet capable to settee Stines down capable to inquire him what led to nan shooting, Stines refused to answer. 

"Y'all are gonna termination me, aren't you?" he replied earlier again asking astir nan proscription to Leslie County. 

"Y'all are gonna termination me, I cognize you are," he said. "Let's conscionable get it complete with. Let's conscionable go." 

Mickey Stines peers down a stairwell earlier continuing to locomotion towards nan jail's sally port. (Kentucky State Police)

The questioning culminated successful a melodramatic exit of nan courthouse into nan jail's sally port, during which Stines peered done windows and down stairwells, apparently looking for imaginable threats. 

"Come connected guys, beryllium adjacent pinch maine now," he said connected aggregate occasions. 

A quiet hour-long thrust to nan Leslie County Jail followed, pinch nan officers asking intermittently if Stines wanted to talk what happened. 

Former Letcher County, Kentucky Sheriff Mickey Stines inspects nan rear compartment of a constabulary cruiser arsenic constabulary effort to calm his paranoia.  (Kentucky State Police)

According to Stines' lawyer Jeremy Bartley, fearfulness of blowback against his family stemming from his grounds successful a civilian suit against a erstwhile Letcher County Sheriff's lawman drove him to nan brink. 

"Specifically, successful nan approximate two-week play anterior to nan incident successful nan judge's chambers, beautiful overmuch each nan witnesses nan investigators talked to support what those adjacent to Mickey had said arsenic well," Bartley told Fox News Digital past week.

"And that's simply this: Mickey had go highly paranoid. He'd go sleepless, fundamentally wasn't sleeping. [He] slept little, if astatine all. He had benignant of go withdrawn. And you know, it was of specified a interest that his co-workers urged him to spell to nan doctor, and he yet did nan time anterior to nan shooting."

Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines tin beryllium seen pointing his weapon astatine District Court Judge Kevin Mullins. (Letcher County Handout)

"On nan time that this [shooting] happened, my customer had attempted aggregate times to interaction his woman and daughter, and he firmly believed that they were successful danger," Bartley said. "He believed that they were successful threat because of what he knew to person happened wrong nan courthouse. And location was pressure, and location were threats made to him to benignant of support him successful line, to support them from saying much than these folks wanted him to say."

Judge Kevin Mullins hands his telephone complete to Sheriff Mickey Stines soon earlier being changeable dormant successful his ain chambers.  (Kentucky State Police)

Bartley is planning an insanity defense.

Stines had been deposed conscionable days anterior successful nan explosive lawsuit, which was fraught pinch accusations of intersexual abuse successful nan Letcher County Courthouse, specifically successful Mullins' chambers, conscionable 3 days anterior to allegedly sidesplitting nan judge. Stines was named arsenic a suspect successful nan civilian case, but only insofar arsenic he allegedly grounded to decently supervise nan lawman who is nan superior target of nan suit.

The lawyer for nan plaintiff successful that case, Ned Pillersdorf, lobbed accusations astir nan civilization of nan courthouse successful an question and reply pinch Fox News Digital past week.

"Just my wide interest arsenic a criminal defense lawyer … they were moving a brothel retired of that courthouse," Pillersdorf said. "I mean, nan pimping – astatine slightest 3 women we cognize of, though I deliberation it's higher."

Pillersdorf conducted nan deposition pinch Stines 3 days earlier nan shooting, and besides noted that Stines was acting oddly. 

Bartley did not return a petition for remark Friday. 

Prosecuting lawyer Jackie Steele has not returned aggregate remark requests. 

What a forensic psychiatrist, assemblage connection master says:

"The sheriff is evidently suffering intelligence impairment, though it is unclear precisely what his test aliases operation of diagnoses is," Dr. Carole Lieberman told Fox News Digital, adding that slumber deprivation could beryllium an aggravating facet to a intelligence illness. 

Lieberman, a psychiatrist and intelligence wellness practioner who has been an master witnesser successful cases ranging from attempted homicide and home unit to personage divorcement proceedings, said that Stines' astir evident denotation of intelligence unwellness is his paranoia. 

"Regardless of really galore times they tried to reassure him that they were going to support him safe, he would not fto spell of this wishful thinking that their intentions were to termination him," she said. 

She described Stines arsenic "panicky" during his relationship pinch rule enforcement, and noted that nan shuffling successful his chair was an effort to comfortableness himself. 

District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was killed by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, successful his judge's chambers, authorities said. (Kentucky Court of Justice ;Letcher County Sheriff's Office)

"The sheriff is successful evident discomfort, pinch his protruding abdomen taking complete his presence, and rocking backmost and distant successful nan chair – which is self-soothing behavior," she said. "He is perpetually grimacing, reflecting his beingness and affectional pain."

Another information that could person contributed to Stines' behaviour is called Brief Reactive Psychosis, and could person resulted from his deposition successful nan civilian suit 3 days earlier, according to Lieberman.

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She said that specified a information could person occurred "as a guidance to his having fixed a stressful deposition successful a ‘sextortion' lawsuit and being sued civilly himself, past abruptly realizing that his coworkers successful rule enforcement and nan courthouse could move against him if his grounds implicates them successful criminal behavior."

"He seems to consciousness unit from threats (real aliases imagined) to support him from saying excessively much," she said.