A judge is killed, the sheriff is charged – and a small town in Kentucky is deeply shaken

By Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — A small, close-knit community in southeastern Kentucky is reeling after its sheriff was arrested Thursday for the killing of a prominent district judge in his office. Residents are wondering what might have sparked the shooting and calling for better security at the courthouse.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, a man who was responsible for the personal security of judges in his position, gunned down 54-year-old District Judge Kevin Mullins in the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, according to Kentucky State Police.

Stines turned himself in after the shooting and was arrested at the scene without incident, authorities said. He now faces a charge of first-degree murder, state police said.

The murder sent shockwaves through the small town of Whitesburg, home to 1,711 people.

“This community is small by nature and we are all devastated,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said at a news conference Thursday evening.

According to preliminary investigations, this happened after an argument between the two men in the judge's chambers on Thursday afternoon.

A quiet day in court turned chaotic when police received a 911 call shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday “reporting shots being fired from inside the building,” Gayheart said.

When reports emerged of an active shooter in the courthouse, Court Security Officer Wallace Kincer and Clerk of Court Mike Watts immediately sprang into action, escorting attorneys and court staff away from the unknown threat lurking in the courtroom, said Letcher County Prosecutor Matt Butler.

Fear spread across the county when Letcher County Public Schools students were quarantined shortly before 3:30 p.m.

“After a call from Kentucky State Police, LCC was instructed to impose a mandatory curfew due to a shooting downtown. Your children are safe,” a message to parents said.

The court lost its district judge, who had served for 15 years, after Mullins was found with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead, Kentucky State Police said.

Letcher County also lost its sheriff after Stines was arrested at the courthouse on Thursday. It's unclear who will take his place, authorities said. He is in jail in Leslie County and his first court date is scheduled for Sept. 25 before a Carter County judge, said Jackie Steele, the prosecutor handling the case. CNN is trying to find out if Stines has an attorney.

While residents await details on the dispute that led to the shooting, the motive remains under investigation, Gayheart said, adding that the incident was “isolated.” But this is the first time a tragedy “of this magnitude” has struck the county, he said.

Ben Gish, editor of the local weekly newspaper Mountain Eagle, told CNN: “None of us could imagine something like this happening today.”

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

While some residents are looking for answers after the shooting, others have called for more appropriate security measures at the Letcher County Courthouse, such as installing a metal detector and increasing security at the entrance.

“The Letcher County Courthouse is one of the last that you can enter without a metal detector or security guards at the front door,” Letcher County Prosecutor Matt Butler said in a video message Friday. “That is unacceptable in 2024. It was unacceptable when I started in 2007.”

Sheriff and judge were prominent figures in the small town

Many residents knew the two prominent figures in the community, and friends of the sheriff and judge said they were shocked by the murder and could not understand why it had happened.

“Our community has suffered an act of violence that appears to have occurred between two men with whom I have worked for 17 years and whom I have loved as brothers,” Butler said.

Butler has recused himself and his office from the sheriff's prosecution for family reasons, saying he and the judge married two sisters and their children acted more like siblings than cousins. Butler added that he has a “close professional relationship” with Mullins and Stines, he said in his video statement.

In Letcher County, “we all know each other,” Butler said.

“If you knew Letcher County, you would know that families always remain close and stick together even closer in times of unspeakable tragedy like today,” he said.

The community has not only lost its sheriff and its district judge, but also two friends with whom he worked daily, Mike Watts, the district court clerk, told CNN affiliate WKYT.

“It's just unimaginable. 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. Maybe that will help us all process the pain. The whole community is just in shock.”

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,” Wagner added. “I don't know how to prepare for it.”

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear commented on social media speculation Friday morning about the motive behind the fatal shooting.

“I know there's a lot about this on the Internet and elsewhere. This is an active, ongoing investigation,” he said during a press conference on another topic.

Sheriff was deposed in a court case days before the shooting

Earlier this week, Stines was deposed in an ongoing federal case against a former deputy sheriff who forced a woman to have sex with him in Mullins' office in 2021.

Sabrina Adkins and Jennifer Hill filed suit against Stines and Deputy Sheriff Ben Fields in 2022, claiming that in exchange for sex, the deputy said he would keep Adkins out of jail and send him home on parole while avoiding the fees associated with an ankle bracelet.

Fields was charged with several felonies and one misdemeanor – including rape and tampering with a surveillance device – and received probation as part of a deal earlier this year, the Mountain Eagle newspaper reported.

Hill has since died and the criminal charges against her against Fields have been dropped, but her estate is still pursuing the case against Field and Stines, court records show.

The lawsuit alleges that the sexual allegations against Fields were “not adequately investigated by Sheriff Stines.”

According to a disciplinary letter obtained by the Louisville Courier-Journal, Stines fired Fields in 2022 for “unbecoming conduct” after the lawsuit was filed.

In a response to the lawsuit, defense attorneys wrote: “Mickey Stines acted in good faith at all times and exercised due care and skill in the performance of his duties as required by law.”

Stines was deposed in the case on Monday, both plaintiffs' and defendants' attorneys confirmed to CNN.

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.

“This is a sad day for our legal community and I hope that in time we will gain a clearer understanding of the circumstances that led to Judge Mullins' death,” Shaw said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the judge's family and the families of all those involved.”

Search for answers to what happened in the judge’s chamber

State police said Thursday that an investigation is currently underway into how the fatal shooting occurred and what the argument between the two men was about.

“We know there was an argument between the two that preceded the incident, but what exactly happened before the shots were fired is something we are still trying to find answers to,” Gayheart said.

There are cameras in the building and all witnesses will be interviewed, he said. While other people were in the building when Mullins was shot, no one else was in the judge's chambers, according to authorities.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said Thursday that his office would work with Attorney General Steele as a special prosecutor in the case.

“We will fully investigate the matter and seek justice,” Coleman said.

According to Gayheart, Mullins' body will be transferred to the coroner's office in Frankfort, the state capital.

In memory of Mullins, flags at all Kentucky Court of Justice locations will be flown at half-staff through Monday. Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said he was “shocked” by Mullins' killing and that the court system was “shaken.”

As a result of the shooting, district and circuit courts and the clerk's office will remain closed until operations can resume, the Administrative Office of the Kentucky Courts said Thursday. Once the courts reopen, a retiring judge will temporarily take over district court cases until a nominating commission selects Judge Mullins' successor, spokesman Jim Hannah told CNN on Friday.

The killing came less than two weeks after southeastern Kentucky was rocked by a highway shooting that left five people injured in Laurel County. And just four days ago, a Russell County sheriff's deputy was killed in the line of duty, officials said.

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