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

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