Case against Sheangshang headed to grand jury; girlfriend also appears in court

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The man accused of shooting and killing a Scott County sheriff’s deputy had his second court hearing regarding his murder charge in Georgetown.

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The brief hearing lasted about two minutes Tuesday morning, with Steven Sheangshang appearing virtually before a judge.

Sheriff Tony Hampton was in the courtroom looking on. It’s been two weeks of mourning and grieving for Sheriff Hampton and his department.

"Day by day, day by day, that’s just what we do," said Sheriff Hampton. "Everybody is starting to get a little bit of rest now. That helps."

Some were hoping to hear testimony, but instead, Sheangshang’s public defender says her client waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and the case will now be sent to the grand jury.

“I don’t know, I think going to trial may be the right thing to send a message, but I may be wrong about that,” said Sheriff Hampton.

Sheriff Hampton says it was important for him to be there on Tuesday and every court hearing moving forward. He says he’s comfortable with the decision to hand off the case to the Attorney General’s Office for special prosecution once it moves out of district court.

"A victim advocate will be assigned from their office today after the preliminary, so now that it’s been waived, there will be a victim advocate involved, which is very important to me for the family," said Sheriff Hampton.

Meanwhile, in Franklin County District Court, Sheangshang’s girlfriend, Monica Hardin, stood before a judge for an extradition hearing on a warrant out of Clermont County, Ohio.

Authorities say Hardin and Sheangshang stole a Chevy El Camino from a garage three days before the Scott County shooting.

On Tuesday, the couple was indicted on several more property crimes charges.

Hardin’s lawyer says she’s been cooperating with authorities.

“She wasn’t trying to run. She is from Kentucky. She had just gone back home when they came and arrested her on this,” Hardin’s lawyer said.

The judge said Ohio has ten days to come and get her; otherwise, she’ll be released from custody, but that doesn’t mean the case goes away.

Her bond is set at $150,000.