A former Kentucky sheriff was arraigned on a murder charge on Monday in the same county courthouse where he is accused of gunning down a judge in his chambers two months earlier.

The former sheriff, Shawn Stines, 43, was indicted last week for murdering a public official, which can carry the death penalty in Kentucky. He pleaded not guilt and was ordered held without bond.

The authorities have not revealed any motive for the shooting, which has baffled the county seat of Whitesburg, a small town in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.

Mr. Stines, who is known as Mickey, was a popular figure in Letcher County. After working 16 years as a bailiff in the district court, he was elected sheriff in 2018, and was re-elected in 2022 with 75 percent of the vote. Days after the shooting in late September, he announced his retirement. The victim, Kevin R. Mullins, 54, had been a district court judge for 14 years, according to his obituary.

At a hearing in early October, prosecutors played video footage showing Judge Mullins sitting in his chambers, one story below where Monday’s arraignment took place. In the video, he is confronted by a man holding a pistol, identified by the authorities as Mr. Stines. After the man fires, the judge falls out of his chair, and then the man walks around the desk and fires more shots.

Detective Clayton Stamper of the Kentucky State Police testified at the October hearing that the accused and the victim had had lunch together at a local restaurant before the shooting. The detective also said that there was no indication that the shooting had been planned. Citing witness interviews, he said there had been no apparent tension between the two men beforehand.

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