Kentucky Sheriff Accused of Killing Judge in His Chambers

A dispute at a Kentucky courthouse Thursday ended with a judge fatally shot in his chambers, and a county sheriff charged with his murder. Authorities say Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines and Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins had some sort of argument in Mullins' chambers, and Stines shot Mullins multiple times, Lex18 reports. State police responded to a 911 call regarding 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 of the dispute, nor have they speculated on a motive.

Stines, variously reported as being 43 or 44, was previously a bailiff for the Letcher County District Court before being elected sheriff in 2018, the Courier Journal reports. He and Mullins were both involved in a 2022 lawsuit accusing a Letcher County deputy sheriff of offering "favorable treatment for sexual favors." Stines was accused in the suit of failing to properly train the deputy sheriff in question as well as failing to respond to reports of wrongdoing. The misconduct was alleged to have occurred in Mullins' chamber, but the suit does not accuse Mullins of wrongdoing and does not say whether the judge was aware of the situation. Stines was expected to give a deposition in that suit Monday, but it's not clear whether that had anything to do with his alleged shooting of Mullins. (More Kentucky stories.)