Chilling surveillance footage of the moment former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines shot and killed District Judge Kevin Mullins in his chambers was played during a preliminary hearing Tuesday.
Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, fatally shot District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, last month.
Stines turned himself in without incident and was charged with first-degree murder.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Sheriff Stines was deposed in a federal lawsuit for failing to investigate claims that Ben Fields, a deputy who worked as a jailer at the courthouse, sexually assaulted two female inmates inside of the judge’s chambers.
Ben Fields was indicted on seven felony counts and one misdemeanor for sexually assaulting at least two women. Fields was sentenced to 7 years but will only spend 6 months in jail and the other six and a half years on probation for rape, sodomy, perjury, and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device.
“The women claimed Fields told them he would not make them pay for the monitoring if they would do him “a favor.”
Fields disabled the devices, told the monitoring company that bail conditions had been changed so the devices were not required, and then used threats of arrest to force the women to have sex with him. When Letcher Circuit Judge James W. Craft II asked Fields for GPS coordinates for one of the subjects for a court appearance, Fields said he couldn’t locate her and filed an escape charge against her, court records show,” The Mountain Eagle reported.
On Tuesday, Stines appeared before the court dressed in a jail uniform, hands cuffed, as prosecutors presented key evidence linking him to the murder of his long-time friend, Judge Mullins.
Stines, who officially resigned from his position as sheriff just one day prior, is accused of gunning down the district judge in what the defense is suggesting was an act of “extreme emotional disturbance” rather than premeditated murder, CNN reported.
Defense attorney Jeremy Bartley admitted that Stines did shoot Mullins but claimed the former sheriff was not in a rational state of mind at the time.
“I think they’ve established probable cause for manslaughter first, but not murder,” Bartley argued.
A chilling 20-second surveillance footage was played in the court. Judge Mullins was seen crouching behind his desk in an attempt to shield himself as Stines fired multiple rounds.
In a final, devastating moment, Stines, who had begun to leave, returned and fired additional shots upon noticing movement from Mullins under the desk.
Although only a short segment was shown, Kentucky State Police Det. Clayton Stamper confirmed that the full surveillance recording, which was not played in court, captured a much longer and disturbing interaction between the two men.
Before the shooting, Stines and Mullins had shared a lunch with several others, and according to witnesses, no visible tension arose during the meal.
However, Stamper noted that an unsettling comment was made during the lunch, with Mullins reportedly asking Stines, “Do we need to meet private in my chambers?”
A critical moment came after the two men returned to Mullins’ chambers. The detective testified that Stines, after attempting to call his daughter from his own phone, requested to see the judge’s phone.
Mullins complied, and only seconds later, Stines stood up and began firing.
“I was told that Sheriff Stines had tried to call his daughter, and he had tried to call his daughter from the judge’s phone also,” said Stamper, who verified that phone records confirmed calls had been made to Stines’ daughter’s cell phone from the judge’s phone.
It remains unclear what Stines saw on the judge’s phone that triggered the fatal shooting.
After the shooting, Stines surrendered to law enforcement without resistance. The detective recalled Stines making a confusing remark upon his arrest.
“When he was taken into custody, I was told by one of the other officers there that he made the comment, ‘They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid,’” he said.
“Basically, all he said was, ‘Treat me fair,’” Stamper added.
WATCH:
NEW: Woman bawls in court as video footage of Kentucky sheriff Shawn Stines k*lling Judge Kevin Mullins is shown.
Stines is accused of m*rdering his longtime friend after seeing something on his cellphone.
New details reveal that after Mullins and Stines had lunch together, the… pic.twitter.com/qyQe6kPj1g
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 1, 2024
