Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines has been indicted for the murder of Judge Kevin Mullins, who was shot on September 19, 2024. Stines could face death penalty.
As reported by the New York Post, Shawn Stines and the late Judge Mullins had been friends for 30 years and took lunch just hours before Stines pulled out his gun in Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg. Surveillance footage shows Stines pulling out a gun and pointing it at Mullins's head before firing eight shots at him.
Why did Shawn Stines kill Judge Kevin Mullins?
It isn't entirely clear why Shawn Stines killed his longtime friend Kevin Mullins, but here's a description of what transpired on the day the shooting took place.
During a court hearing, Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper shared that on September 19, Stines and Judge Kevin Mullins had lunch with several others. He mentioned that Mullins had reportedly asked a colleague, "Do we need to meet privately in my chambers?" before events took a dark turn.
Clayton Stamper also testified that Sheriff Stines had attempted to contact his daughter, both from his phone and from Judge Mullins’ phone, with Mullins' phone showing that his daughter’s number was already saved.
The shooting, which took place in Mullins' chambers in Whitesburg on September 19, led to further questions about the motive. When asked if the killing was related to something Stines might have seen on the phone, Stamper stated:
“It could be, but I don’t know that for a fact.”
Surveillance footage of the incident was shown in court, and Stines appeared to avoid looking at the video as it played.
Investigators had spoken with Stines' daughter, with a parent present, and had sent her phone to a forensic lab for analysis. After the shooting, as he was being taken into custody, Shawn Stines allegedly told officers that:
"They're trying to kidnap my wife and kid"
In his defense, Stines' attorney, Jeremy Bartley, argued that Stines had been under an 'extreme emotional disturbance' at the time of the incident. Shawn Stines surrendered to the authorities following the shooting and was arrested at the scene without any resistance.
Shawn Stines was facing a lawsuit?
Before the shooting, Shawn Stines was being deposed in a federal lawsuit involving former deputy Ben Fields, who allegedly coerced a woman into s*x in Judge Mullins' chambers in 2021.
According to CNN, in 2022, Sabrina Adkins and Jennifer Hill filed a lawsuit against Shawn Stines and deputy Ben Fields, accusing Fields of offering to keep Adkins out of jail and avoid ankle monitor fees in exchange for s*x.
The lawsuit states that when Adkins, under home incarceration, expressed difficulty finding housing and affording the monitor, Fields made inappropriate comments about her appearance and suggested they could “work something out.”
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Adkins alleged that Fields met her in Judge Mullins' chambers at night, claiming it was a private space without cameras. These meetings reportedly took place several times over seven months, including s*xual encounters.
The lawsuit alleges Shawn Stines failed to properly investigate the claims, and he fired Fields in 2022. Stines' attorney declined to comment on his involvement in the case or the murder investigation.
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