A Kentucky sheriff charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a judge pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in a case that has shaken the small rural community of Letcher County.

Sheriff Shawn Stines, also known as Mickey, made his first court appearance as a defendant in the case at his virtual arraignment. He is accused of fatally shooting Judge Kevin Mullins last Thursday in his chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg in southeastern Kentucky, not far from the Virginia border.

Law enforcement officials have not disclosed a motive, and many details about the shooting were still unknown. The hearing before Chief Regional District Judge H. Rupert Wilhoit did not yield any clues.

During the 10-minute proceeding, Sheriff Stines appeared onscreen standing between Josh Miller, a public defender, and Danny Clark, the county jailer for Leslie County, where Sheriff Stines is being held.

The fact that Sheriff Stines was appearing virtually from Leslie County while the judge was presiding in person about two hours away in Carter County underscored the complicated nature of the case.

Matt Butler, the commonwealth’s attorney for Letcher County, recused himself from the case because he had worked closely with Sheriff Stines, and Judge Mullins was his brother-in-law. As a result, the Kentucky attorney general and Jackie Steele, the commonwealth attorney for two other eastern Kentucky counties, are prosecuting the case.

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