DISTURBING surveillance video shows the moment a judge crouched behind his desk before being gunned down in his chambers by the city’s sheriff.
Former Kentucky Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, could now face the death penalty for killing District Judge Kevin Mullins in a shocking scene on September 19.
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Surveillance video appears to show Sheriff Stines shooting Judge Kevin Mullins in his chambers on September 19 Credit: CourtTV
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District Judge Kevin Mullins, who was shot and killedCredit: AP
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Former Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines in his photo at the Leslie County Detention Center after being charged with Mullins’ murderCredit: AP
Prosecutors released chilling video of Stines allegedly opening fire on Mullins during the former sheriff’s preliminary hearing Tuesday in Letcher County, Kentucky, which is about 150 miles southeast of Lexington.
Mullins, 54, died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds. Stines turned himself in to police after the shooting.
The video, which has no sound, shows a man identified by officers as Stines pulling out a gun and pointing it at Mullins, who was sitting at his desk.
The referee appeared to fall to the floor and the attacker went around the table and fired at him, while Mullins tried to take cover in a corner of the room. Stines shot the referee eight times.
Video of the hearing revealed viewers in the courtroom sobbing and groaning as the clip played in court.
Stines, who resigned as sheriff on Monday, pleaded not guilty to the killing last week. He reportedly looked down as the video was played in court, according to the Associated Press.
Police have not released a motive for the killing, but court officials revealed that Stines and Mullins, who has been a judge for 15 years, had lunch together earlier that day.
Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper said the two men were eating with several other people at a restaurant near the courthouse.
Mullins was reportedly heard asking Stines if they should meet privately in his quarters, Stamper reported.
The detective said he reviewed tapes of the meeting between the sheriff and the judge in Mullins’ chambers before the shooting rang out.
– Sheriff Stines uses his phone to make a phone call – Stamper described the moments before the shooting.
“He then borrows Judge Mullins’ cell phone and appears to be on the phone.”
Stamper reported that it was confirmed that Stines’ daughter’s phone number was recently called on the judge’s phone at the time of his death.
He said it was unclear who Stines called or what was said during the conversation.
What we know about the sheriff and the judge
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines and District Judge Kevin Mullins were reportedly friends for years before Stines allegedly killed Mullins in September.
The two even had lunch together on the day of the shooting, police said in court.
Before he was brutally murdered, Mullins served for 15 years as a district judge for the 47th Judicial District, which presides over Letcher County.
Judging by the obituary, the judge was survived by his wife and two daughters.
Local residents say Stines served as a bailiff in Mullins Court for years before being elected sheriff in 2018, the Courier Journal reports.
Stines is the father of a teenage daughter, whose phone number was on Mullins’ phone at the time of the shooting, officers confirmed in court Tuesday.
Stines resigned as sheriff on Monday after Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear publicly called on him to step down.
He is currently being held in the Leslie County Jail.
“It happened after a phone call,” Stamper said of the shooting.
“I don’t know what was said.”
The judge’s phone was later found on his desk. Stines’ phone was with him when he was arrested.
THE SHERIFF’S CREEPY PLEA
After the shooting, the sheriff left the courtroom with his hands raised in surrender, Stamper testified.
“He was mostly calm, I thought,” Stamper said.
“I spoke to him but he didn’t say anything about why it happened.
“Basically all he said was ‘treat me fairly’.”
Stamper also added that Stines told police at the time of his arrest, “They’re trying to take my wife and child.”
PAST LEGAL TROUBLE
Stines is being held in a jail in the second district of Kentucky. He could serve a sentence of 20 years to life in prison for murder.
Being charged with murder of a public official, Stines could potentially face the death penalty. Prosecutors have not said whether they are seeking the death penalty for the former police officer.
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Stines at his preliminary hearing at the Morgan County Courthouse in West Liberty, Kentucky, on October 1 Credit: AP
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Stines wipes his eyes during Tuesday’s arraignmentCredit: AP
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Stines listens to testimony during his preliminary hearing Credit: AP
Three days before the shooting, Stines was removed from a federal lawsuit vaguely related to Mullins.
In a lawsuit filed in 2022 by two women, one alleged that a sheriff’s deputy forced her to have sex with him in Mullins’ private quarters for six months in exchange for keeping her out of jail.
The court document alleges that Stines had “deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise” the accused deputy, according to the local Courier Journal.
Stines fired the deputy after the lawsuit was filed in 2022, the paper reported.
Court officials said it was unclear whether the lawsuit was related to last month’s shooting.
US Sun has reached out to the Kentucky State Police for comment.
The Courier Journal reported that local residents said Mullins and Stines had been friends for years.
Stines served as a bailiff in Mullins Court for several years before being elected sheriff in 2018, the Journal reported.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
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Stines’ former office at the Letcher County Sheriff’s DepartmentCredit: AP
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