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Kentucky sheriff charged with killing judge pleads not guilty to murder charge to
The Kentucky sheriff of a small Appalachian county who is accused of walking into a judge’s chambers and fatally shooting him pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on Wednesday.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, is being held in another Kentucky county but was arraigned by video Wednesday before a special judge, who is standing in for the judge who was gunned down, Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins.
Wearing a gray jail uniform, Stines showed no emotion while appearing via video for the brief hearing. He appeared alongside a public defender, who entered the not guilty plea on his behalf. The special judge, Carter County District Judge H. Rupert Wilhoit III, conducted the hearing from his courtroom in northeastern Kentucky. There was no discussion of a bond during the hearing, and the judge indicated that the maximum punishment in the case would be the death penalty.
It was the first court appearance for Stines since the shooting, which shocked the residents of Whitesburg, a small town located about two-and-a-half hours southeast of Lexington, near the Virginia border.
The preliminary investigation indicates Stines shot Mullins multiple times on Sept. 19 following an argument in the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police. Mullins, 54, who held the judgeship since 2009, died at the scene, and Stines, 43, surrendered minutes later without incident. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
Police have not offered any details about a possible motive.
The Kentucky attorney general’s office is collaborating with a special prosecutor in the case. Lead county prosecutor Matt Butler, who recused himself and his office from the investigation citing social and family ties to Mullins, said in a statement that the judge was well-liked by his neighbors.
“We all know each other here. … Anyone from Letcher County would tell you that Judge Mullins and I married sisters and that we have children who are first cousins but act like siblings,” Butler said in statement from his office.
In Letcher County, those who know the sheriff and the judge had nothing but praise for them, recalling how Mullins helped people with substance abuse disorder get treatment and how Stines led efforts to combat the opioid crisis. They worked together for years and were friends.
Mullins served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
A federal lawsuit accused Stines of failing to investigate allegations that one of his deputies repeatedly sexually abused a woman in Mullins’ chambers while serving as a bailiff for the judge, CBS News previously reported. Stines was deposed three days before the shooting.
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Harris to call for tougher security measures in first trip to southern border as nominee
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Douglas, Arizona, on Friday, marking her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris will deliver remarks to call for tougher border security measures as part of her efforts to address border issues, according to a senior campaign official.
Harris plans to say that American sovereignty requires setting rules at the border and enforcing them, stressing that Border Patrol agents need more resources.
The vice president will make combating the flow of fentanyl a focal point of her remarks and refer to it as a “top priority” for her presidency. Harris will propose adding fentanyl detection machines to ports of entry along the border and will call on the Chinese government to crack down on companies that make the precursor chemicals utilized in the making of fentanyl.
While Harris will stress the need for border security and address the lack of current resources, the vice president will also advocate for an immigration system that is “safe, orderly and humane” according to campaign officials granted anonymity to speak freely on the prepared remarks.
As Harris is set to make her case on the border, the Biden administration will soon move to cement the asylum restrictions it enacted at the southern border over the summer, officials told CBS News. The planned amended proclamation would make it less likely for the asylum restrictions to be lifted in the near future, according to two U.S. officials who requested anonymity to discuss internal government plans. Officials have credited the stringent measure for a sharp drop in illegal border crossings in recent months.
Harris’ first border trip as the Democratic nominee comes as the vice president is looking to make gains on her opponent, former President Donald Trump, on border issues. According to a recent CBS News poll, 58% of likely voters consider the U.S.-Mexico border a major factor in deciding who they will vote for. The poll also found 53% of likely voters would support Trump starting a national program to find and deport all immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.
Trump and Republicans have long campaigned on the need for strong border security and have attempted to place blame on Harris for the influx of illegal crossings during the Biden administration.
During a Thursday press conference in New York, Trump denounced Harris’ border visit, telling reporters “she should save her airfare.”
“She should go back to the White House and tell the president to close the border,” Trump said. “He can do it with the signing of just a signature and a piece of paper to the border patrol.”
Harris will argue, according to a senior campaign official, that Trump was responsible for scuttling a bipartisan border bill that would have enacted permanent asylum restrictions and authorized additional border agents and resources. Trump urged his allies in Congress to reject the bill earlier this year.
“The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” Harris plans to say, according to excerpts previewed by CBS News.
While Harris has been pushing for Congress to pass the bill from the campaign trail, Trump on Thursday referred to the legislation as “atrocious.”
“It would allow people to come in here at levels that would be incredible and would allow them to get citizenship” Trump told reporters. “It was not a border bill. It was an amnesty bill.”
The measure that failed to garner enough support from Senate Republicans in the spring also included executive authority to turn away migrants during spikes in illegal immigration and would have expanded legal immigration levels.
contributed to this report.
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Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida as Category 4 storm
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