(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a startling incident in Kentucky, a sheriff fatally shot a district judge within his office after a brief altercation.
The sheriff, identified as Mickey Stines, 44, from Letcher County, confronted District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, leading to the tragic outcome.
Authorities remain uncertain of the motive behind the killing, but surveillance footage from Mullins’ office shows both men examining each other’s mobile phones moments before the shooting occurred, according to reports from The Mountain Eagle, cited by The Daily Mail.
Prior to the incident, Sheriff Stines requested a private conversation with Judge Mullins in his chambers.
During this meeting, after a brief discussion, Stines secured the room by locking the door.
Shortly thereafter, each man exchanged his cellphone with the other.
Stines then drew his firearm, circled the desk, and shot Mullins multiple times, causing him to collapse.
This violent act took place merely hours after both the sheriff and the judge had dined together with other courthouse staff.
The connection between the argument that escalated to Mullins’ death is still being pieced together.
“We know that it was an argument between the two that led up, but what exactly transpired prior to the shots being fired, that’s still things that we’re trying to get answers to,” explained Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart.
Stines, who is a father of two and was contemplating retirement at the end of his term, now faces charges of first-degree murder.
Interestingly, he served as Judge Mullins’ bailiff before being elected sheriff in 2018.
Additionally, Stines was embroiled in a lawsuit alleging he neglected to investigate a deputy accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the same judge’s chambers.
The plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, Sabrina Adkins, asserted that Deputy Ben Fields coerced her into sexual acts to avoid jail time, which was supposed to be supervised under home incarceration.
Fields was later dismissed by Stines and is currently serving a seven-year sentence after admitting to the crime.
The killing of Judge Mullins, who had been presiding over the 47th district for 15 years, has profoundly impacted the small Appalachian community of about 1,700 residents.
Following the incident, the local judiciary expressed a significant emotional response, prompting Lead County Prosecutor Matt Butler to recuse himself from the case due to his close personal and familial ties with Mullins.
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