DISTURBING surveillance video shows the moment a judge cowered behind his desk before the town sheriff shot him to death in his own chambers.
Former Kentucky sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, could now face the death penalty for murdering District Judge Kevin Mullins in a shocking scene on September 19.
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Prosecutors played the terrifying video clip of Stines allegedly opening fire on Mullins during the ex-sheriff’s preliminary court hearing on Tuesday in Letcher County, Kentucky, which is about 150 miles southeast of Lexington.
Mullins, 54, died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Stines surrendered to police after the shooting.
The footage, which has no audio, showed a man who cops identified as Stines pulling out a gun and pointing it at Mullins, who sat at his desk.
The judge appeared to fall to the floor and the gunman walked around the desk to fire at him while Mullins tried to take cover in the room’s corner. Stines shot the judge eight times.
Video from the hearing revealed that viewers in the courtroom sobbed and groaned as the clip played in court.
Stines, who stepped down as sheriff on Monday, pleaded not guilty to the murder last week. He reportedly looked down while the video played in court, according to the Associated Press.
Police haven’t shared a motive for the killing, but court officials revealed that Stines and Mullins, who served as a judge for 15 years, had lunch together earlier that day.
Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper said that the two men ate with several other people at a restaurant near the courthouse.
Mullins was reportedly heard asking Stines if they needed to meet privately in his chambers, Stamper reported.
The detective said he reviewed footage of the sheriff and judges’ meeting in Mullins’ chambers before the gunfire rang out.
“Sheriff Stines uses his telephone to make some phone calls,” Stamper described the moments before the shooting.
“He then borrows Judge Mullins’ cellphone and appears to make a call on that.”
Stamper reported that Stines’ daughter’s phone number was confirmed to be recently called on the judge’s phone at the time of his death.
He said that it’s unclear who Stines called and what was said during the conversations.
What we know about the sheriff and judge
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey
The two even had lunch together on the day of the shooting, police said in court.
Before he was brutally murdered, Mullins served as the district judge of the 47th Judicial District, which presides over Letcher County, for 15 years.
According to his obituary, the judge is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Local residents say Stines served as a bailiff in Mullins’ court for years before he was elected sheriff in 2018, according to the Courier Journal.
Stines is a dad to a teenage daughter, whose phone number was on Mullins’ phone at the time of the shooting, cops confirmed in court on Tuesday.
Stines resigned from his position as sheriff on Monday after Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear publicly called for him to step down.
He is currently being held at the Leslie County Jail.
“It occurred after a phone call was made,” Stamper said about the shooting.
“I don’t know what was said.”
The judge’s phone was later found on his desk. Stines’ phone was with him when he was arrested.
SHERIFF’S CHILLING PLEA
The sheriff came out of the courtroom with his hands up in surrender after the shooting, Stamper testified.
“He was mostly calm, I thought,” Stamper said.
“I talked to him but he didn’t say nothing about why this had happened.
“Basically all he said was ‘treat me fair.’”
Stamper also added that Stines told police at his arrest, “They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid.”
PAST LEGAL TROUBLES
Stines is being held at jail in another Kentucky county. He could serve 20 years to life in prison for the murder.
Because he’s accused of killing a public official, Stines could potentially face the death penalty. Prosecutors haven’t said if they’re seeking the death penalty for the former cop.
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Three days before the shooting, Stines was removed from a federal lawsuit vaguely related to Mullins.
In a 2022 lawsuit filed by two women, one alleged a deputy sheriff forced her to have sex with him inside Mullins’ private chambers for six months in exchange for keeping her out of jail.
The court document alleged that Stines had “deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise,” the accused deputy, according to local outlet the Courier Journal.
Stines fired the deputy after the suit was filed in 2022, the outlet reported.
Court officials said it wasn’t clear if the lawsuit was related to last month’s shooting.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Kentucky State Police for comment.
The Courier Journal reported local residents said Mullins and Stines were friends for years.
Stines served as a bailiff in Mullins’ court for several years before he was elected sheriff in 2018, according to the Journal.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
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