LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (WJHL) — State prosecutors have filed a petition to change the location of the trial for former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, who is accused of killing a judge in his chambers in September 2024.

The petition was filed in Letcher County Circuit Court by Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele.

Steele cited Kentucky law, which states a circuit judge may move a trial to another venue if it seems as if either the defendant or the state will not receive a fair trial in the county where the alleged offense took place. Kentucky law states a trial can be moved to an adjacent county or further until the court finds that a fair trial can be conducted.

In the petition, Steele notes that Stines’ trial is unique in that all the court proceedings are taking place in the building in which the alleged murder took place.

Steele also noted that both Stines and the victim, District Judge Kevin Mullins, were both publicly elected officials.

“Every eligible voter in Letcher County either had a reason to vote for or against the defendant and the victim at one time,” Steele wrote. “The preconceived opinions as to the character and ability of these two men is likely to irreconcilably prejudice both the Commonwealth and the Defendant if this trial takes place in Letcher County.”

The petition also calls attention to the vast amounts of media coverage the case has received from both local and national outlets. Steele listed a number of media outlets that have covered the case and also pointed to GoFundMe pages for Stines’s family.

According to Steele, comments on social media have also shown a number of people in the county have preconceived opinions about the case and have formed beliefs about what led to Mullins’s death.

“Eastern Kentucky as a whole has been permeated with developments in this awaited trial to an extent that opinions as to the Defendant’s guilt and what punishment he should receive have been recorded and solicited across numerous social media platforms,” Steele wrote.

Steele attached multiple examples of news coverage, fundraisers and comment sections tied to the case as examples for the request to change the venue. Steele ended the petition by claiming a fair and unbiased trial in Letcher County or its neighboring counties would likely not be possible.

“The pre-trial and ongoing publicity surrounding this case has aroused the public, specifically in the Eastern Kentucky area, in a way in which a fair in impartial trial held in the counties surrounding Letcher County would be unlikely,” Steele concluded.

Stines has been charged with first-degree murder and murder of a public official. He has pleaded not guilty to both charges.