Kentucky sheriff who shot and killed judge in chambers charged with murder

A Kentucky sheriff is facing charges of first-degree murder after shooting and killing a local judge inside his chambers last week.

Kentucky State Police say Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins several times following a short argument. Stines turned himself in to police without incident.

Mullins had been a district judge in the county since 2009. Stines, elected sheriff in 2019, had previously served as a bailiff for Mullins in the southeastern Kentucky town of Whitesburg. His stint as sheriff was marred by controversy after a deputy sheriff in the department pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman on house arrest.

The former deputy, Ben Fields, was Stines' successor as bailiff. He was charged with sexually abusing a prisoner in his care in the same judge's chambers where the shooting took place. Stines is a defendant in his official capacity in a lawsuit filed by women that Fields raped, with the suit alleging that Stines failed to investigate their claims properly.

He was deposed in that lawsuit on the day of the shooting, which has shaken up the small town.

“I am shocked by this act of violence, and the court system is shaken by this news. My prayers are with his family and the Letcher County community as they try to process and mourn this tragic loss. I ask for respect and privacy on their behalf,” Kentucky Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said in a statement.

Per CNN, authorities were uncertain who would step in for Stines, the top law enforcement official in Letcher County. The local prosecutor has recused himself from the case, citing personal and professional ties to Stines.