Published: December 09, 2008 08:43 pm      

Man pleads no contest in deputy shooting case

TAZEWELL, Va. — One of four defendants in the Oct. 2007 shooting of a Tazewell County deputy pleaded no contest Tuesday in Tazewell County Circuit Court.

Wallace Stearil Kinder Jr., 34, of Cedar Bluff, Va., was one of four people arrested and charged after the Oct. 19, 2007 shooting of Deputy Eric Mullins of the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department. A major search for the suspects was launched after Mullins was shot during a traffic stop near Bluefield, Va.

Mullins, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was shot twice as he approached a stopped vehicle that matched the description of one used during two robberies in Claypool Hill and Richlands that same morning. Mullins recovered from his injuries and later returned to duty.

Kinder was facing two charges of attempted capital murder when he entered a plea Tuesday before Judge Keary Williams, according to information with the Tazewell County Circuit Clerk’s Office.

During the hearing, Kinder pleaded no contest to conspiracy, grand larceny, destruction of property and worthless check. He remains in custody, and his sentencing was scheduled for 9 a.m. on Feb. 23, 2009.

Another defendant in the case, Scotty Lee Stinson, 28, of Bandy, Va., received two life sentences in May on two counts of attempted capital murder, 50 years each 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. The Commonwealth’s attorney alleged that Stinson was the shooter in the case.