A shocking new video has emerged showing a Kentucky sheriff pointing a gun at a judge moments before he was shot dead.
District Court Judge Kevin Mullins died after being shot multiple times in his chambers at the Lechter County Courthouse on September 19.
His friend, local sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines, 43, has been charged with murder after CCTV footage showed him unleashing a hail of bullets at the 54-year-old.
He pleaded not guilty to the murder, which shocked the small town of Whitesburg.
The breathtaking photo shows Mullins sitting at his desk with one hand raised as he appears to try to calm the gunman.
A shocking new photo has emerged showing a Kentucky sheriff pointing a gun at a judge moments before he was shot dead
The men were involved in a tense altercation before Stines pulled out his gun
Mullins flinched as Stines pulled out his gun, leaning to one side before crouching to try to escape his fire.
Just a few feet away from him, suspected killer Stines can be seen holding his gun and pointing it at the judge’s head.
Detectives are investigating a possible motive, but the shooting is believed to have occurred after Stines discovered his daughter’s phone number on Mullins’ phone.
CCTV footage played in court during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday showed Stines checking his phone before calling the judge.
Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified that he was told the sheriff had attempted to contact his daughter from both devices.
The disturbing footage drew sobs from the public gallery as Mullins showed desperate attempts to take cover from the volley of bullets that followed.
Prosecutors said it shows Stines firing eight shots into the judge who tried to duck behind his desk to protect himself.
Shivering, the gunman began to leave before slamming his door on the latch and pushing the office chair aside to fire a few more rounds at the judge and leave the room.
District Court Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, died after being shot multiple times in his chambers on September 19
Lechter County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, is accused of shooting his ‘friend,’ District Court Judge Kevin Mullins
Stines later admitted himself without incident and was described by Stamper as “calm.”
When he was arrested for the September 19 shooting, the sheriff urged officers to “treat me fairly.”
As DailyMail.com exclusively reported last month, just hours before the shooting, the sheriff and the judge, who were longtime friends, shared an outdoor table at the popular Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street, just a few hundred yards from the courthouse . .
The pair were regulars at the sports bar during lunch together and ordered their usual on that fateful Thursday – both had the $13.99 wings with salad.
‘Everything seemed fine between them. There was no indication that anything was wrong,” one of the employees who attended them that day told DailyMail.com.
“You wouldn’t suspect there was even the slightest problem.”
The court heard Stines found his daughter’s number on Mullins’ phone and tried to call his daughter from the judge’s phone prior to the shooting.
The sheriff wiped his eyes as he listened to the testimony Tuesday
Police allege Stines walked into the judge’s outer office, told court staff he needed to speak to Mullins alone, and then shot him as soon as they entered the inner office.
Stines then walked outside with his hands raised and surrendered to officers, who handcuffed him. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
Mullins was appointed judge in the state’s 47th District in 2009 under former Gov. Steve Beshear. Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
The two worked together on drug policy in rural Kentucky, which has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic.
Police confirmed they are investigating a ‘sex scandal’ motive, among other leads in Mullins’ sensational death.
Lurid sexual allegations about married District Judge Mullins began circulating in the small mountain town almost immediately after his murder.
One thing Stines, who served as the 54-year-old judge’s bailiff before becoming sheriff in 2018, undoubtedly had his eye on was a civil lawsuit against one of his deputies who was convicted of rape.
In the chilling footage played in the opening minutes of his preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Stines shot Mullins, 54, repeatedly as he sat at his desk.
Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022
Stines and Mullins had worked together on drug policy in rural Kentucky, which had been hit hard by the opioid epidemic
The 43-year-old sheriff was accused of failing to properly train and supervise former deputy Ben Fields, who forced a woman trapped at home to have sex for favors – ironically in Judge Mullins’ chambers.
Fields received six months in prison and six and a half years of probation.
Stamper confirmed in court that Stines’ daughter was questioned by police. The interview took place in the presence of her mother.
A total of three mobile phones are currently being downloaded in a forensic laboratory and will be part of the investigation.