Chilling new details emerge in murder of Kentucky judge ‘shot dead by sheriff in courthouse’

A Kentucky sheriff exchanged phone calls with a local judge before fatally shooting him in his office, according to a new report.

According to police, District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was shot and killed in his office after a brief argument by Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 44.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but video footage from the judge’s office shows the two men looking at each other’s phones before Stines opened fire, sources said. The mountain eagle.

Sheriff Stines entered the courtroom and asked if he could speak to Mullins for a moment before they went to the judge’s office.

After a brief conversation, Stines got up to lock the door, after which both men grabbed their cell phones and handed them to each other, the local media reported.

Stines had entered the courtroom and asked to speak privately with Mullins before they went to the judge’s office

Stines then allegedly pulled out his gun, walked around the judge’s desk and shot him repeatedly as Mullins fell to the ground.

The sheriff and the judge had apparently had lunch with other court employees hours before the murder.

“We know there was an altercation between the two of them leading up to it, but what exactly happened before the shots were fired, we’re still trying to figure out,” said Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart.

Stines, a beloved father of two who reportedly planned to retire when his term was up, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Before becoming sheriff in 2018, he was Judge Mullins’ bailiff.

Stines was previously accused in a lawsuit of failing to investigate claims that one of his deputies repeatedly sexually assaulted a woman in the same judge’s chambers.

Former inmate Sabrina Adkins claims in a federal lawsuit that she couldn’t afford the cost of an ankle monitor and didn’t want to return to the Letcher County Jail.

According to a 2022 federal lawsuit, Officer Ben Fields then forced her to perform sexual acts so she could remain confined to the home.

The sheriff and the judge had apparently had lunch with other court employees hours before the murder

Letcher County’s chief judge signed an order Friday closing the county courthouse where the shooting occurred

Sheriff Stines was named as a suspect in the case and was scheduled to give a statement Monday, four days before he allegedly killed the judge.

In 2002, Stines released Fields, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence, after he confessed to filming the former inmate.

Mullins, who served as a judge for 15 years, died at the scene and Stines surrendered without incident.

The deadly shooting sent shockwaves through the close-knit Appalachian town and the seat of a county of about 1,700 people about 145 miles (233 kilometers) southeast of Lexington.

Chief District Attorney Matt Butler said he showed tremendous compassion when he recused himself and his office from the investigation into the shooting, noting that he had social and family ties to Mullins.

“We all know each other here. … Anyone from Letcher County would tell you that Judge Mullins and I married sisters and have children who are first cousins ​​but act like brothers and sisters,” Butler said in a statement from his office.

Stines, a beloved father of two who reportedly planned to retire when his term ended, has been charged with first-degree murder

Mullins, who was a judge for 15 years, died at the scene

‘That is why I have taken measures, among other things, to exclude myself and my entire office.’

The Letcher County judge-executive signed an order Friday closing the courthouse where the shooting took place.

Mullins was appointed to the state’s 47th District judgeship in 2009 under former Governor Steve Beshear.

According to a Letcher County website, he oversaw juvenile cases, municipal and county ordinances, misdemeanors, traffic violations, citations, probation hearings, claims of $2,500 or less, civil cases of $5,000 or less, voluntary and involuntary mental commitments, and domestic violence cases.

Mullins also received recognition for his efforts to treat people with drug addiction rather than incarcerate them. In 2010, he started a program that allowed inmates with substance abuse disorders to enroll in inpatient treatment as a condition of parole.

He previously served as an assistant district attorney for nine and a half years, where he primarily focused on drug-related crimes.

Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.