Footage released showed Kentucky Sheriff Shawn Stines killing Judge Kevin Mullins after the pair had an argument in the judge’s office.
Mullins and Stines had lunch together just hours before the incident.
They later met in the judge’s office where an argument unfolded.
“I was told Sheriff Stines tried to call his daughter and tried to call his daughter from the judge’s phone also,” Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper said.
Stines asked Mullins for his phone and reportedly tried calling his daughter.
Seconds after seeing the judge’s phone, Stines got up and began shooting.
A Kentucky State Police spokesperson says the agency is investigating the shooting but has not identified a possible motive.
One police officer said as the sheriff was being arrested, he yelled: ‘They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid.’
SHERIFF, JUDGE ALLEGEDLY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER’S CELL PHONES BEFORE SHOOTING
According to multiple sources, video from inside Letcher District Judge Kevin Mullins’ office shows he exchanged cell phones with Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines before Stines shot him.
Stines had been in the office after asking to speak to Mullins privately. The two sat and talked before Stines stood up and locked the door and each took out his cell phone and handed it to the other.
According to those sources, Stines drew his weapon, walked around Mullins’s desk and shot him repeatedly as Mullins fell to the floor. Stines allegedly fired eight shots.
Mullins was 54 years old and had been district judge since 2009. Stines was his bailiff before running for sheriff.
The two had eaten lunch together with employees of the court system earlier that day.
The shooting occurred shortly before 3 p.m. The first call came into 9-1-1 at 2:55 p.m., with a Whitesburg Police officer telling the dispatcher that shots had been fired in the courthouse, that he had self-dispatched and had one person under arrest. The first police officers were dispatched by 9-1-1 three minutes after the call. Stines, who is 43 and was planning to retire at the end of this term, left the office and surrendered to police. He has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held in the Leslie County Jail.
Meanwhile, the Letcher County Courthouse remains closed today, Friday, as the investigation continues. Grief counsellors were made available to courthouse workers, attorneys, and others involved.
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NEW: Footage released of Kentucky sheriff Shawn Stines k*lling Judge Kevin Mullins after the pair had an argument in the judge’s office.
Mullins and Stines had lunch together just hours before the incident.
They later met in the judge’s office where an argument unfolded.
“I… pic.twitter.com/EaNG6xES1c
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 4, 2024