Subhi Agrawal
On Thursday afternoon, the sheriff of a rural county in eastern Kentucky entered a courthouse and shot a district judge in his chambers following a dispute, according to police reports.
Charged With First-Degree Murder
Mickey Stines, 43, the sheriff of Letcher County, surrendered after shooting Judge Kevin Mullins and has been charged with first-degree murder, according to Trooper Matt Gayheart of the Kentucky State Police, who spoke at a news conference on Thursday evening.
The shooting occurred around 2:55 p.m. inside the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, a city in southeastern Kentucky. According to Trooper Gayheart, the sheriff was taken to a local jail and has been cooperative with investigators.
“This community is small in nature, and we’re all shook,” the trooper stated.
Judge Mullins, 54, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Trooper Gayheart.
Investigators were interviewing witnesses who were present in the building during the shooting, while police continued to seek clarity on the events that led to the argument.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced on social media that he had been made aware of the shooting.
“There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow,” the governor said.
Community Impact & Legal Challenges Involving Sheriff Stines
The shooting raised concerns about an active shooter in the community, leading to lockdowns at nearby schools. However, police later confirmed that it was an isolated incident and posed no threat to the public.
Judge Mullins was first elected by county residents in 2010, as reported by Ballotpedia, which monitors elections. He had recently been appointed to a state judicial commission focused on mental health. Mickey Stines, also known as Shawn M. Stines, was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
In 2020, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former sheriff’s office employee who alleged that Mr. Stines eliminated her position after taking office in 2019 due to her support for another sheriff candidate.
Earlier this month, Mr. Stines was also deposed in a separate ongoing case involving a former sheriff’s deputy accused of sexually abusing an inmate. Mr. Stines terminated the deputy, Ben Fields, shortly after the lawsuit was filed in 2022.
The lawsuit claimed that Mr. Fields coerced the inmate into performing sexual acts late at night inside the Letcher County Courthouse. Mr. Fields is currently serving a five-year sentence in state prison after being convicted on charges related to the actions outlined in the federal lawsuit.
Mr. Stines was named as a defendant in the lawsuit because he was accused of “deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise” Mr. Fields.
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