The defense team for former Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines introduced new materials to the court this week, providing more details about the case.

Stines is charged with murder after the September 19, 2024 shooting of District Judge Kevin Mullins in his Letcher County chambers.

Defense attorneys submitted several briefs Tuesday. One document asked the judge to order Stines’ competency and criminal responsibility report to be unsealed or allow Stines to use it in his defense.

The Commonwealth argued against unsealing the report, saying it would make the evaluation “subject to widespread dissemination, further compromising the ability to seat a fair and impartial jury.”

A motion for change of venue was also submitted by the Commonwealth, requesting to move the trial from the building where the murder occurred to ensure a fair trial. However, the defense team argues there is no reason to move a case that is already national news.

Attorneys for Stines also submitted a brief supporting their motion to dismiss the murder indictment, based on what they claim are well-corroborated mental health concerns that went undisclosed during the original grand jury testimony.

That filing included a transcript of the grand jury testimony in question, which has since been sealed by the judge.

In the now-sealed document, the trooper testifies that, based on public rumor about inappropriate relationship between Stines’ daughter and Judge Mullins, Stines’ family was questioned about the connection.

However, Stines’ wife and daughter denied “any allegations of having any contact whatsoever with Judge Mullins.”

Outside of the call that Stines is reported to have made to his daughter from Mullins’ phone, investigators say there was no other reported contact between the two.

The supporting documents claim investigating detective, Clayton Stamper, falsely testified to not being aware of Stines displaying signs of any mental health issues. The document claims KSP did interviews with several people close to Stines who shared concerns about his mental state.

In the sealed transcript, Stamper told the grand jury people did express concerns because “he wasn’t acting like himself.”

According to the filing, co-workers reported claims of paranoia about his family being harmed and his home being watched. They say one of the witnesses also disclosed a situation one day before the shooting in which Stines claimed a local attorney demanded he give them money and then die by suicide, “or ‘they’ were going to kill [his wife and daughter].”

WYMT also obtained body cam footage from KSP, showing Stines continually asking to be treated fair, acting worried about his safety, and telling troopers he believes they want to kill him.

Reports discussed in the brief included a medical record that claims Stines saw a doctor the day before the shooting, “accompanied by his friends who are concerned about his level of stress and loss of sleep.”

“There are multiple other witnesses who state similar observations and opinions. The KSP investigation is Detective Stamper’s investigation. Given the overwhelming evidence of Mr. Stines’ mental state prior to and immediately following the shooting, Detective Stamper had no clear basis for testifying that Mr. Stines was in his sane mind,” the document said. “The Commonwealth is not required to put on exculpatory evidence nor evidence demonstrating lack of criminal responsibility. However, the Commonwealth is not permitted to mislead and provide clearly false testimony when asked by the grand jury.”

The document claims the Commonwealth was “cherry picking” the information it shared with the grand jury.

It goes on to imply a link between the “stress and anxiety” presented by Stines and a civil case that is reported to have also taken place in Mullins’ chambers.

“On September 20, 2024, KSP interviewed attorney Daniel Dotson. Dotson says that he told Defendant to seek a mental health evaluation prior to the shooting and Defendant told him he was going to see his family doctor. Dotson said that Defendant never threatened him or Judge Mullins, but that he was so concerned about Mickey’s demeanor he contacted the Kentucky Bar Association to determine what action he could take,” the document said. “Dotson also told the KSP that he spoke to Kevin Mullins and told him that Mickey was ‘losing it’ and ‘couldn’t take this kind of pressure’ in reference to the civil suit.”

In his testimony, Detective Stamper said “There is an active lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office that was ongoing, and that seemed to be the – the nature of his issues that was going on with him, based on what these people told us.”

He said he did not have knowledge of Mullins’ involvement in the case.

The support documents also included a triage assessment from the Leslie County Detention Center, which claimed Stines was “in an active state of psychosis” four days after the shooting.

“He appears disoriented and is only aware of things jail staff tell him. He has no recollection of the recent past. He does report that he has ‘some’ paranoia because he is unsure where he is at and is told he is incarcerated,” wrote a social worker. “He does not appear to understand his charge and is unaware of his surroundings. He denies any suicidal and homicidal ideations. He does present to be responding to internal stimuli during the evaluation. Mr. Stines should continue at high risk level. He has had episodes of combativeness, which has required pepper spray.”

Defense attorneys argue the original indictment was based on a grand jury that did not have all of the information relevant to the case.

“Detective Clayton Stamper testified to, multiple false statements before the Letcher County Grand Jury. This testimony prejudiced Mr. Stines and resulted in an indictment,” said the brief. Had the Commonwealth presented truthful and accurate testimony to the grand jury, the outcome would likely have been different.”

The defense wants to dismiss the indictment and have the case presented again before a grandy jury.

With plans still in place to go for an insanity defense, the Commonwealth submitted a motion of intent, saying they plan to have a private specialist examine Stines’ mental health for a second time.

The defense team responded, saying Stines has already undergone a psychiatric evaluation.

“They should not be allowed to obtain another evaluation simply because the initial KCPC evaluation is unfavorable to their case,” the defense argued.

The judge has not yet responded to the motions.