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A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed in his courthouse chambers Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged with murder, police said.
Shooting followed argument inside courthouse, state police sayThe Associated Press
· Posted: Sep 19, 2024 11:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 20
This undated photo provided by Kentucky Court of Justice shows slain District Judge Kevin Mullins. (Kentucky Court of Justice/The Associated Press)A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed in his courthouse chambers Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged with murder, 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.
Just what the two men were arguing about wasn’t immediately made clear.
Stines was deposed on Monday in a lawsuit filed by two women, one of whom alleged that a deputy sheriff 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, 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.
This booking photo provided by Leslie County Detention Center in Kentucky on Friday shows Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines. (Leslie County Detention Center/The Associated Press)Three charges related to a second woman were dismissed because she is now dead.
Stines fired Fields, who was his successor as Mullins’ bailiff, for “conduct unbecoming” after the lawsuit was filed in 2022, The Courier Journal reported at the time
The fatal shooting in Whitesburg sent shock waves through a tight-knit Appalachian town and county seat of government with about 1,700 residents, 235 kilometres 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 the county courthouse on Friday.
Governor condemns shootingMullins, 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.
Responding to the shooting, Kentucky 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.”
In a social media post, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, shown earlier this week, condemned the shooting. (Timothy D. Easley/The Associated Press)Mullins served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former governor 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.
