Published: May 07, 2008 09:21 pm         

Gunman gets two life sentences for shooting Va. police officer

TAZEWELL, Va. — A Bandy man received two life sentences Thursday for his role in the Oct. 19, 2007 shooting of a Tazewell County police officer.

Scotty Lee Stinson, 28, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Teresa Chafin to two life terms on two counts of attempted capital murder, 50 years each in prison on two counts of robbery, and 13 years in prison on four counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a violent felony, Commonwealth Attorney Dennis Lee said.

“The bottom line is he was sentenced to two life (sentences) and 113 years,” Lee said.

Stinson and three others were arrested and charged last year in connection with the Oct. 19 shooting of Deputy Eric Mullins of the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department. The shooting prompted a two-state manhunt near the state line of Bluefield and Bluefield, Va.

Mullins, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest and has since recovered from his injuries, was shot twice when he approached a vehicle he stopped in Bluefield, Va., that matched the description of a vehicle involved in a pair of robberies in Claypool Hill and Richlands on the morning of Oct. 19.

Lee said dozens of police officers across the region were involved in the manhunt, including local, state and federal agents. Lee said the combined police response, and tips from the public, led to the successful apprehension of the three individuals.

“I’ve never seen as much of a response not only from citizens, but from every branch of law enforcement and every agency of law enforcement responsible in this manhunt and investigation,” Lee said.

Lee said the officer shooting and preceding manhunt presented a threat to public safety.

“In the Bluefield area, they had to go through warning people in the neighborhoods, homes were locked up, schools went on lockdown, all of the elementary and primary schools in the Bluefield area went on lockdown, Bluefield College went on lockdown, and I think Beaver if I’m not mistaken went on lockdown. We had officers from the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the ATF, the state police from four different states, as well as numerous other law enforcement agencies that worked around the clock. It was just an amazing response.”

Lee said about seven police officers testified in Wednesday’s hearing.

Lee said the Commonwealth alleges Stinson was the trigger man in the case. Lee said Stinson was charged with two counts of attempted capital murder because two shots were fired.

Stinson, Wallace Stearil Kinder Jr., 34, of Cedar Bluff, and Tracy Marie Coxton, 32, of Bandy were all indicted earlier this year by the county’s grand jury on two counts each of attempted capital murder.

Lee said Kinder is set for trial in August and Coxton is set for trial in September. Lee said both remain incarcerated without bond pending trial.



Charles Owens writes for the Bluefield (W.Va.) Daily Telegraph.