Kentucky sheriff charged with murder of judge in court on Wednesday

WHITESBURG, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky judge who was gunned down in his courtroom was remembered for his public service as mourners searched for answers to solve a mystery that still rocks their small Appalachian town: why their beloved sheriff is behind bars, charged with murder.

The preliminary investigation indicates that Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times last Thursday after an argument at the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police. Mullins, 54, who had been a judge since 2009, died at the scene, and Stines, 43, turned himself in without incident. He has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. Police have not released details about a possible motive, and a Kentucky State Police subpoena provides few details about the shooting.

Stines will attend his arraignment virtually on Wednesday, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a social media post Monday, adding that prosecutors will “continue to pursue justice.” It was not clear from court records Monday who is representing Stines in the case.

On Sunday, mourners gathered in a high school gymnasium for the judge's funeral and to remember his service to Letcher County in southeastern Kentucky near the Virginia border. Whitesburg, the county seat, is 146 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky.

One of Mullins' friends said he was “confused as to what could cause something like this.”

The Letcher County Sheriff's Department is seen Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Whitesburg, Kentucky. A preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument at the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police. (AP Photo/Randy Sartin)

“I never thought he would ever be in a situation like this,” Garnard Kincer Jr., the former mayor of Jenkins, Kentucky, told WYMT-TV on Sunday.

Kincer said he trusts the justice system to resolve the incident.

A brief arrest warrant citation for Thursday's shooting charges Stines with murder and follows a brief description: “The perpetrator used a firearm to shoot … Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins. Judge Mullins succumbed to his injuries following the shooting.”

Mullins was shot at 2:55 p.m. and Stines was arrested five minutes later, the complaint says.

The one-page document contained no further information about the shooting.