WHITESBURG, Ky. (AP) 鈥 Residents of a tiny Appalachian town struggled Friday to cope with a shooting involving two of its most prominent citizens: a judge who was gunned down in his courthouse chambers and a local sheriff charged with his murder.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just so sad. I just hate it,鈥 said Mike Watts, the Letcher County circuit court clerk. 鈥淏oth of them are friends of mine. I鈥檝e worked with both of them for years.鈥
It wasn鈥檛 clear what led to the shooting. The preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn 鈥淢ickey鈥 Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument inside the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police.
Mullins, 54, who held the judgeship for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines, 43, surrendered without incident. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
The fatal shooting stunned the tight-knit town of Whitesburg, the county seat, with a population of about 1,700 people, 145 miles (235 kilometers) southeast of Lexington.
Stines was deposed on Monday in a lawsuit filed by two women, one of whom alleged that a deputy forced her to have sex inside Mullins鈥 chambers for six months in exchange for staying out of jail. The lawsuit accuses the sheriff of 鈥渄eliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise鈥 the deputy.
The now-former deputy sheriff, Ben Fields, pleaded guilty to raping the female prisoner while she was on home incarceration. Fields was sentenced this year to six months in jail and then six and a half years on probation for rape, sodomy, perjury and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device, The Mountain Eagle . Three charges related to a second woman were dismissed because she is now dead.
Stines fired Fields, who succeeded him as Mullins鈥 bailiff, for 鈥渃onduct unbecoming鈥 after the lawsuit was filed in 2022, The Courier Journal at the time.
Those who know both the sheriff and the judge had nothing but praise for them, recalling how Mullins helped people with substance abuse disorder get treatment and how Stines led efforts to combat the opioid crisis. They worked together for years and were friends.
Those who knew Stines also were struggling to understand how someone they described as a family man could kill someone.
Jessica Slone, a distant relative of Stines鈥 and a lifelong resident of Letcher County, said she was shocked when she heard the news. She was at the dollar store with her nephew when he told her Mullins had been shot.
鈥淚 was like seriously? Is he okay? And he said 鈥楴o, he鈥檚 dead,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淏ut at the time, I didn鈥檛 know that Mickey had done it. When I found out I was grocery shopping and I got really emotional and started praying.鈥
She said Stines was close with his children and worked hard to get fentanyl and methamphetamine off the streets of the community and help people dealing with substance use disorder get into recovery.
Patty Wood, the widow of District Judge Jim Wood, Mullins鈥 predecessor, said she has been close friends with Stines and his family for years. She said she was shocked by the shooting and the arrest of Stines.
鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 find a better person on the face of the earth than Mickey Stines. I don鈥檛 know what happened,鈥 she said.
鈥淚 know Mickey鈥檚 character. And I know there had to be something that did it,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 just cannot believe that he just went in and shot him for no reason.鈥
Jennifer L. Taylor, a Whitesburg attorney, said Stines has a big heart and was looking forward to retiring from law enforcement, she said. In a recent conversation with her, Stines brought up that he might go to law school. Mullins, she said, 鈥渢ook his time out to listen to people.鈥
鈥淜eep our community in prayers,鈥 Taylor said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a rough time.鈥
Several people also reflected on how a relatively quiet day in court quickly turned chaotic.
Watts said he saw Mullins and Stines together shortly before noon Thursday 鈥 about three hours before the shooting 鈥 when he went into the judge鈥檚 chambers to ask him to sign some papers. Mullins and Stines were getting ready to go out to lunch together, Watts said.
It seemed like an ordinary interaction, except that Stines seemed quieter than usual. He thought the pair had a good working relationship and knew of nothing that could have prompted the violent encounter.
Watts, who was on another floor in the courthouse, never heard any shots and only learned of the shooting shooting when his son called to tell him there was an 鈥渁ctive shooter鈥 in the courthouse.
Taylor said she was at her law office a short distance from the courthouse, when the shooting happened Thursday. 鈥淲e just saw cars flying by,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still in shock. It鈥檚 unreal.鈥
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will collaborate with a regional commonwealth鈥檚 attorney as special prosecutors in the criminal case, since the lead county prosecutor, Matt Butler, recused himself and his office. Butler said he and the judge married two sisters, and their children act like siblings.
鈥淲e will fully investigate and pursue justice,鈥 Coleman said on social media.
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter was in Whitesburg on Friday and said he was visiting to show his support for the community and 鈥渙ur Kentucky Court of Justice family,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey are obviously in shock and grieving.鈥
VanMeter commented on the swirl of social media speculation about what triggered the shooting.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 hard to do, but I would hope that people on social media would just respect their privacy and their grief and let them mourn,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a tragic, horrific situation.鈥
Letcher County's judge-executive closed the county courthouse on Friday.
It was unclear whether Stines had an attorney 鈥 state police referred inquires to a spokesperson who did not immediately respond by email.
Mullins served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
___
Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York.
