A judge is killed, the sheriff is charged – and a Kentucky town is rocked

(CNN) — A small, tight-knit community in southeastern Kentucky is reeling after its sheriff was arrested in the killing of a prominent district judge in his chambers Thursday — prompting residents to wonder what could have triggered the shooting and sparking calls for better courthouse security.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43 — a man whose role made him responsible for the personal safety of judges — shot and killed District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, according to Kentucky State Police.

Stines surrendered to authorities after the shooting and was arrested at the scene without incident, authorities said. He is now charged with first-degree murder, state police said.

The murder sent shockwaves through the small town of Whitesburg, population 1,711.

“This community is small by nature, and we’re all shaken up,” Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart said at a news conference Thursday night.

It all happened after an argument between the two men in the judge's chambers on Thursday afternoon, a preliminary investigation revealed.

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

After hearing reports of an active shooter in the courthouse, court security officer Wallace Kincer and Circuit Court Clerk Mike Watts sprang into action, directing attorneys and court staff away from the unknown danger lurking in the chambers, according to Matt Butler, Commonwealth's Attorney for Letcher County.

Fear rocked the county as Letcher County Public Schools students were placed on quarantine shortly before 3:30 p.m.

“After a call from the Kentucky State Police, LCC was ordered to go into mandatory lockdown due to an ongoing shooting in the downtown area. Your children are safe,” a message to parents read.

The court was left without its district judge after 15 years of service after Mullins was found with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead, Kentucky State Police said.

Letcher County was also left without its sheriff after eight years since Stines was arrested in court Thursday, and it's not yet clear who will take his place, authorities said. He is being held in Leslie County and his first court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 25 before a Carter County judge, said Jackie Steele, the commonwealth's attorney assigned to the case. CNN is trying to determine if Stines has an attorney.

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

Ben Gish, editor of the Mountain Eagle, a local weekly newspaper, told CNN: “None of us could imagine that something like this could happen in this day and age.”

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

While the shooting has some residents searching for answers, it has prompted some to advocate for more adequate security protocols at the Letcher County Courthouse, including installing a metal detector and adding security at the entrance.

“The Letcher County Courthouse is one of the last remaining courts that can be entered without a metal detector or security at the front door,” Letcher County Commonwealth’s Attorney Matt Butler said in a video statement Friday. “That’s unacceptable in 2024. It was unacceptable when I started in 2007.”

The sheriff and the judge were important figures in the small town

Many residents knew the two prominent community figures, and friends of the sheriff and judge said they were stunned by the killing and had trouble understanding why it happened.

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

Butler recused himself and his office from the sheriff's prosecution because of family ties, saying he and the judge married two sisters and their children acted more like siblings than cousins. Butler added that he had 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 stick together at all times and pull together even more in times of unspeakable tragedy like today,” he said.

The community not only lost its sheriff and district judge, but it also lost two friends it worked with every day, Circuit Court Clerk Mike Watts 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 what happened, and I’m confident that they will hopefully provide some answers as to why this happened. Maybe that can help us heal. The whole community is in shock.”

In Kentucky, sheriffs are responsible for security at courthouses — including the personal safety of judges — according to Jerry Wagner, a retired sheriff who is now the 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 any other elected official,” Wagner told CNN Friday.

“Nobody saw this coming,” Wagner added. “I don't know how you prepare for this.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear commented Friday morning on speculation on social media about the cause of the deadly shooting.

“I know there's a lot of information on the Internet and elsewhere. This is an ongoing investigation,” he said at a news conference on a separate case.

The sheriff was deposed at trial days before the shooting

Earlier this week, Stines was deposed in an ongoing federal lawsuit involving a former deputy who coerced a woman into having sex with him in Mullins' office in 2021.

Sabrina Adkins and Jennifer Hill filed a lawsuit against Stines and Deputy Ben Fields in 2022, claiming the deputy said he would keep Adkins out of jail and on home liberty, while avoiding fees associated with an ankle monitor, in exchange for sex.

Fields was charged with multiple felonies and a misdemeanor — including rape and tampering with a surveillance device — and received a suspended prison sentence as part of a plea deal earlier this year, according to the Mountain Eagle newspaper.

Hill has since died and criminal charges against Fields related to her were dropped, but her estate continues to pursue the lawsuit against Field and Stines, according to court documents.

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

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

In a response to the complaint, defense attorneys wrote: “Mickey Stines has always acted in good faith and exercised reasonable care and skill in carrying out his duties as required by law.”

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

Jonathan Shaw, the attorney representing Stines in his official capacity in the trial, told CNN in an email that he does not have the authority to speak on Stines' personal behalf in the federal trial or in the murder case.

“This is a sad day for our legal community and I hope that over time we will have a better 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.”

Searching for answers about what happened in the judge's chambers

An investigation into how the fatal shooting unfolded — and what the two men argued about — is ongoing, state police said Thursday.

“We know it was an argument between the two that led to the incident, but exactly what happened before the shots were fired are things we're still trying to get answers to,” Gayheart said.

There are cameras inside the building and any witnesses will be interviewed, he said. Other people were in the building when Mullins was shot, but no one else was in the judge's chambers, authorities said.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said Thursday that his office will work with Commonwealth's Attorney Steele as special prosecutors on the case.

“We will investigate thoroughly and seek justice,” Coleman said.

Mullins' body will be sent to the medical examiner's office in the state capital in Frankfort, Gayheart said.

In memory of Mullins, flags at all Kentucky courthouses 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 justice system was “shaken.”

Because of the shooting, circuit and district courts, as well as the circuit court clerk's office, will be closed until operations can resume, the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts said Thursday. Once the courts reopen, a retired judge will temporarily take over district court cases until a judicial nominating commission selects Mullins' replacement, spokesman Jim Hannah told CNN Friday.

The killing comes less than two weeks after a highway shooting rocked southeastern Kentucky, injuring five people in Laurel County. And just four days ago, a Russell County deputy was killed in the line of duty, authorities said.

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