Kentucky judge had lunch with sheriff now arrested for his killing, court clerk says – Boston News, Weather, Sports

(CNN) — A local sheriff had lunch with a prominent district judge just hours before he allegedly shot the judge in his office, a court official said. The killing last Thursday shocked the small community in Letcher County, Kentucky.

Clerk of the Court Mike Watt met with District Judge Kevin Mullins and Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shortly before noon on Thursday, he told CNN affiliate WKYT, describing the type of encounter that could happen between colleagues in any workplace across the country.

“We joked a little bit about national politics … And then I talked to the sheriff about attending the Sheriff's Association conference last week in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and asked him how it went,” Watts said. “And then they went down the street to lunch.”

Later that day, Stines, 43, a man who was responsible for the judge's personal security, shot Mullins, 54, at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, Kentucky State Police said. Stines was arrested at the courthouse and now faces a charge of first-degree murder, authorities said.

It is unclear what happened in the judge's chambers the afternoon before the fatal shooting. However, state police said preliminary investigations indicated that an argument had broken out between the two men in the judge's chambers.

After the heated discussion, a 911 call reported that shots had been fired on the second floor of the courthouse shortly before 3 p.m. The district judge, who had been in office for 15 years, was subsequently found with numerous gunshot wounds and pronounced dead, Kentucky State Police said.

“The entire county is devastated,” Watts said, noting the void left by the local justice system. “Not only did we lose our sheriff and our county judge, but I also lost two personal friends that I worked with on a daily basis.”

“I don't know what happened or what the reason was,” Watts said. “I know the Kentucky State Police are investigating the case and I'm confident that hopefully they will provide some answers as to why and maybe that can help us all heal the pain.”

“But the entire district and the community are simply in shock.”

The Letcher County sheriff, who served eight years in prison, is in Leslie County and his first court date is scheduled for Sept. 25 before a Carter County judge, said Jackie Steele, the prosecutor in charge of the case. CNN is trying to find out if Stines has an attorney.

In Kentucky, sheriffs are responsible for security in courthouses – including the personal security of judges, says Jerry Wagner, a retired sheriff who is now executive director of the Kentucky Sheriff's Association.

“We have 120 sheriffs who work with our judges on a daily basis. We work more closely with them than with any other elected official,” Wagner told CNN on Friday. “Nobody saw this coming.”

According to Hall and Jones Funeral Home, a funeral for Mullins was planned for Sunday afternoon in Jenkins, Kentucky. In Mullins' memory, flags at all Kentucky Court of Justice locations will be flown at half-staff through Monday.

Former city mayor and friend of Mullins, Garnard Kincer Jr., told CNN affiliate WYMT outside the funeral on Sunday that the judge was very dedicated to his job and was a great person.

“He was kind, he wanted to help people and he spent most of his career doing that,” Kincer said. “He was a wonderful friend and there was no limit to what he wouldn't do for you.”

Kincer told WYMT he was shocked by Mullins' death and puzzled over what could have led to the tragedy. “I couldn't have imagined he would ever be in this situation,” he said. “But of course all judges and all people in the justice system face this possibility every day.”

Mullins' killing brought a lot of negative attention to the community, although few details are known, Kincer said. “It was like a big, dark cloud over us that we didn't deserve.”

The former mayor said he would wait for the case to go to court. “We have a great governor, a great attorney general and a great Department of Justice in Letcher County.”

Matt Butler, the county's district attorney, had also previously expressed his trust in his community: “Anyone who knows Letcher County knows that families remain close at all times and come even closer together in times of unspeakable tragedy like today.”

Mullins leaves behind his wife and two daughters, his obituary states. “He died in his office in the courthouse, where he spent his entire professional life helping people,” the obituary states.

A “passionate advocate for recovery efforts across Kentucky,” Mullins worked to combat the opioid epidemic by providing access to treatment and helping people suffering from substance abuse, mental illness and disabilities, his obituary said.

“We all know each other”

In Letcher County, “we all know each other,” Butler said, so the murder of two high-ranking politicians sent shock waves through the community, and friends of the sheriff and judge struggled to explain why it happened.

Butler has recuse himself and his office from the sheriff's indictment because he and the judge married two sisters and their children act more like siblings than cousins, he said in a statement Thursday night. Butler added that he has a “close professional relationship” with both Mullins and Stines, he said in a video statement on Facebook Friday.

“Our community has suffered from an act of violence that appears to have taken place between two men I worked with for seventeen years and loved as brothers,” Butler said in a social media post.

Ben Gish, editor of the local weekly newspaper Mountain Eagle, told CNN: “None of us could imagine something like this happening today,” but the effects of the tragedy will linger for a long time.

“I can’t imagine the scars this will leave on our community,” Gish said.

In the wake of the killing, Whitesburg residents are mourning the loss of Mullins, who had a “passion for helping others,” the obituary said. According to his obituary, he helped develop a program that connects people involved with the justice system with treatment services. In 2022, the Supreme Court appointed Mullins to the Kentucky Judicial Commission on Mental Health, where he worked to improve the court's approach to mental health.

“He was greatly respected by his colleagues and his loss is deeply felt throughout the Kentucky judicial system,” the obituary said.

Butler will always remember Mullins as a family member who was “fun to be around,” he said.

“We always got along well. I always found him hilarious. I always found him very funny,” he said in the video statement.

Police in Kentucky search for motive

Kentucky State Police are investigating how the fatal shooting unfolded and the argument that preceded it. They will review footage from courthouse cameras and interview any witnesses who were inside the building, Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said.

“We know there was an argument between the two that preceded the shooting – but what exactly was going on before the shots were fired is something we are still trying to find answers to,” Gayheart said at a press conference on Thursday evening.

This is the first time the county has been hit by a tragedy “of this magnitude,” Gayheart said.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman's office will work with Attorney General Steele as special prosecutor in the case, he said in a statement Thursday. “We will fully investigate the case and work for justice,” Coleman said.

As a result of the shooting, county and district courts and the clerk's office will remain closed until operations can resume, the Kentucky State Administrative Office of Courts said Thursday.

Once the courts reopen, a retiring judge will temporarily take over the district court's cases until a Judicial Nominating Commission selects a successor to Mullins, spokesman Jim Hannah told CNN on Friday.

On Monday, just days before the shooting, Stines was deposed in an ongoing federal case against a former deputy who forced a woman to have sex with him in 2021. The lawsuit alleges that the sexual allegations against the deputy were “not adequately investigated by Sheriff Stines,” who fired the deputy in 2022.

Jonathan Shaw, the attorney representing Stines in his official capacity in the lawsuit, told CNN in an email that he was not authorized to speak on Stines' personal behalf in the federal lawsuit or the murder trial.

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