Kentucky sheriff allegedly killed judge in his office

A dispute at a Kentucky courthouse ended Thursday with a judge being shot dead in his office and a county sheriff being charged with murder. Authorities say an altercation broke out between Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines and Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins in Mullins' office and Stines shot Mullins multiple times, Lex18 reports. State police responded to a 911 call about shots fired and found Mullins, 54, dead and Stines at the scene; he was taken into custody without incident, WKYT reports. Authorities have not released any details about the dispute or speculated on a motive.

Stines, whose age is variously estimated at 43 or 44, previously served as a bailiff in Letcher County District Court before being elected sheriff in 2018. Courier Journal reports. He and Mullins were both involved in a 2022 lawsuit that accused a Letcher County deputy sheriff of offering “preferential treatment in exchange for sexual favors.” Stines was accused in the suit of failing to properly train the deputy sheriff in question and failing to respond to reports of misconduct. The misconduct allegedly occurred in Mullins' office, but the lawsuit does not accuse Mullins of wrongdoing and does not say whether the judge knew about the situation. Stines was scheduled to testify in that lawsuit on Monday, but it's not clear if it had anything to do with his alleged shooting of Mullins. (More stories from Kentucky.)