Additional Coverage:
- Sheriff allegedly guns down judge in his own chamber in execution caught on video; indictment returned (foxnews.com)
Former Kentucky Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines has been indicted for the murder of Judge Kevin Mullins.
Stines was arrested and charged after he allegedly shot Mullins multiple times in his chambers on September 19. The shooting was captured on surveillance footage.
The motive for the shooting is still unclear. Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified that Stines had lunch with Mullins before the incident. Stines allegedly attempted to call his daughter on both his phone and Mullins’ phone before the shooting.
Stines’ defense attorney claims that the shooting was “not something that was planned” and occurred “in the heat of passion.”
The shooting has shocked the community of Letcher County. Stines previously served as a bailiff in Mullins’ court before becoming sheriff in 2018.
Days before the shooting, Stines was deposed in a lawsuit alleging that a deputy had forced one of the plaintiffs to have sex in the same chambers where the shooting occurred. The lawsuit accuses Stines of “deliberate indifference” in failing to train and supervise the deputy.