SEPTEMBER 21, 2024:
WHITESBURG, Ky. (AP) — Residents of a tiny Appalachian town are struggling to cope with a shooting involving two of its most prominent citizens: a Kentucky judge who was gunned down in his courthouse chambers and the local sheriff charged with his murder. Kentucky State Police say the preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff “Mickey” Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument. Mullins died at the scene (Sept. 19, 2024) and Stines surrendered. He was jailed Friday two counties away. Court Clerk Mike Watts said the whole story is sad. He says both men were friends who worked together for years.
Extended version:
WHITESBURG, Ky. (AP) — Residents of a tiny Appalachian town struggled Friday (Sept. 20, 2024) to cope with a shooting involving two of its most prominent citizens: a judge who was gunned down in his courthouse chambers and a local sheriff charged with his murder.
“It’s just so sad. I just hate it,” said Mike Watts, the Letcher County circuit court clerk. “Both of them are friends of mine. I’ve worked with both of them for years.”
It wasn’t clear what led to the shooting. The preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument inside the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police.
Mullins, 54, who held the judgeship for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines, 43, surrendered without incident. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
The fatal shooting stunned the tight-knit town of Whitesburg, the county seat, with a population of about 1,700 people, 145 miles (235 kilometers) southeast of Lexington.
Stines was deposed on Monday in a lawsuit filed by two women, one of whom alleged that a deputy forced her to have sex inside Mullins’ chambers for six months in exchange for staying out of jail. The lawsuit accuses the sheriff of “deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise” the deputy.
The now-former deputy sheriff, Ben Fields, pleaded guilty to raping the female prisoner while she was on home incarceration. Fields was sentenced this year to six months in jail and then six and a half years on probation for rape, sodomy, perjury and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device, The Mountain Eagle reported. Three charges related to a second woman were dismissed because she is now dead.
Stines fired Fields, who succeeded him as Mullins’ bailiff, for “conduct unbecoming” after the lawsuit was filed in 2022, The Courier Journal reported at the time.
Those who know both the sheriff and the judge had nothing but praise for them, recalling how Mullins helped people with substance abuse disorder get treatment and how Stines led efforts to combat the opioid crisis. They worked together for years and were friends.
Those who knew Stines also were struggling to understand how someone they described as a family man could kill someone.
Jessica Slone, a distant relative of Stines’ and a lifelong resident of Letcher County, said she was shocked when she heard the news. She was at the dollar store with her nephew when he told her Mullins had been shot.
“I was like seriously? Is he okay? And he said ‘No, he’s dead,’” she said. “But at the time, I didn’t know that Mickey had done it. When I found out I was grocery shopping and I got really emotional and started praying.”
She said Stines was close with his children and worked hard to get fentanyl and methamphetamine off the streets of the community and help people dealing with substance use disorder get into recovery.
Patty Wood, the widow of District Judge Jim Wood, Mullins’ predecessor, said she has been close friends with Stines and his family for years. She said she was shocked by the shooting and the arrest of Stines.
“You couldn’t find a better person on the face of the earth than Mickey Stines. I don’t know what happened,” she said.
“I know Mickey’s character. And I know there had to be something that did it,” she said. “I just cannot believe that he just went in and shot him for no reason.”
Jennifer L. Taylor, a Whitesburg attorney, said Stines has a big heart and was looking forward to retiring from law enforcement, she said. In a recent conversation with her, Stines brought up that he might go to law school. Mullins, she said, “took his time out to listen to people.”
“Keep our community in prayers,” Taylor said. “It’s going to be a rough time.”
Several people also reflected on how a relatively quiet day in court quickly turned chaotic.
Watts said he saw Mullins and Stines together shortly before noon Thursday — about three hours before the shooting — when he went into the judge’s chambers to ask him to sign some papers. Mullins and Stines were getting ready to go out to lunch together, Watts said.
It seemed like an ordinary interaction, except that Stines seemed quieter than usual. He thought the pair had a good working relationship and knew of nothing that could have prompted the violent encounter.
Watts, who was on another floor in the courthouse, never heard any shots and only learned of the shooting shooting when his son called to tell him there was an “active shooter” in the courthouse.
Taylor said she was at her law office a short distance from the courthouse, when the shooting happened Thursday. “We just saw cars flying by,” she said. “I’m still in shock. It’s unreal.”
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will collaborate with a regional commonwealth’s attorney as special prosecutors in the criminal case, since the lead county prosecutor, Matt Butler, recused himself and his office. Butler said he and the judge married two sisters, and their children act like siblings.
“We will fully investigate and pursue justice,” Coleman said on social media.
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter was in Whitesburg on Friday and said he was visiting to show his support for the community and “our Kentucky Court of Justice family,” he said. “They are obviously in shock and grieving.”
VanMeter commented on the swirl of social media speculation about what triggered the shooting.
“I know it’s hard to do, but I would hope that people on social media would just respect their privacy and their grief and let them mourn,” he said. “It’s just a tragic, horrific situation.”
Letcher County’s judge-executive closed the county courthouse on Friday.
It was unclear whether Stines had an attorney — state police referred inquires to a spokesperson who did not immediately respond by email.
Mullins served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
SEPTEMBER 20, 2024:
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A judge in a rural Kentucky county was fatally shot in his courthouse chambers Thursday (Sept. 19, 2024), and the local sheriff was charged with murder in the killing, police said.
The preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument inside the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police. Mullins, who held the judgeship for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines surrendered without incident.
The fatal shooting in Whitesburg sent shock waves through a tight-knit Appalachian town and county seat of government with about 1,700 residents located about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southeast of Lexington.
Lead county prosecutor Matt Butler described an outpouring of sympathy as he recused himself and his office from investigations in the shooting, citing 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 that we have children who are first cousins but act like siblings,” Butler said in statement from his office. “For that reason, among others, I have already taken steps to recuse myself and my entire office.”
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will collaborate with a commonwealth’s attorney in the region as special prosecutors in the criminal case.
“We will fully investigate and pursue justice,” Coleman said on social media.
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said he was “shocked by this act of violence” and that the court system was “shaken by this news.”
Letcher County’s judge-executive signed an order closing on Friday the county courthouse where the shooting took place.
Mullins, 54, was hit multiple times in the shooting, Kentucky State Police said. Stines, 43, was charged with one count of first-degree murder. The investigation is continuing, police said.
It was unclear whether Stines had an attorney. Kentucky State Police referred inquires about Stines’ legal representation Thursday to a spokesperson who did not immediately respond by email.
Responding to the shooting, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a social media post: “There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.”
Mullins served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
Mullins was known for promoting substance abuse treatment for people involved in the justice system and helped hundreds of residents enter inpatient residential treatment, according to a program for a drug summit he spoke at in 2022. He also helped develop a program called Addiction Recovery Care to offer peer support services in the courthouse. The program was adopted in at least 50 counties in Kentucky.
Mullins also served as a founding member of the Responsive Effort to Support Treatment in Opioid Recovery Efforts Leadership Team.
After the shooting, several area schools were briefly placed on lockdown.
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