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LETCHER COUNTY, KY - Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of District Judge Kevin Mullins.
Police were called to the Letcher County courthouse on Thursday, September 19, 2024, after multiple gunshots were heard within the building. A spokesperson from the Kentucky State Patrol has reported that violence erupted during an argument in the courthouse, escalating to the sheriff's use of deadly force against the judge in his chambers. There appear to be no transcripts of what was said during the heated meeting between the sheriff and the judge.
It is reported that Stines is party to a lawsuit claiming that he failed to properly train and supervise deputy Ben Fields, who was previously convicted and sentenced to six months in jail plus probation for, among other things, raping a woman in the chambers of the same Judge Mullins who was shot on Thursday. Both Stines and Fields have worked as bailiffs for Judge Mullins at different times during his 15-year judgeship.