Kentucky - Judge killed, sheriff arrested in Letcher County courthouse shooting - Sep. 19, 2024 # 2

[m00c0w]

Law & Crime did an interview with the defense attorneys yesterday. I haven’t seen it posted. Interview starts around 13 minutes.

 

[LadyL]

Retired Letcher County sheriff’s deputy Eugene Slone was heading out the door of his eastern Kentucky home Thursday when his phone buzzed.

“When they told me what had happened, I thought it was a dream,” Slone, 54, told The Washington Post. “I couldn’t believe it was real.”

Slone, the retired deputy, lost a race for sheriff to Stines in 2018 after he was laid off from the office. After the election, another former deputy sued Stines, accusing him of retaliating against her by refusing to rehire her from a layoff because she had supported Slone’s candidacy. The lawsuit was resolved in Stines’s favor.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/09/20/kentucky-judge-mullins-shooting-sheriff-stines/

“Some loved him, some didn’t like him,” Slone said of the sheriff. “Some say he picked and choosed who he busted.”

[bbm]

ok here we go
we knew there was more to the stories that he was the nicest guy ever

 

[Ontario Mom]

She is older then the Mullins children perhaps she baby sat them.

I've only seen pics of all of them in MSM articles (all posted here) but haven't seen any ages, other than Stines' daughter being 17. The other girls look much older but I cannot confirm that, it's jmo.

 

[Vegasgrl]

Maybe it's just me, and maybe I'm way too old fashioned but as a mom of 6 girls I find it highly inappropriate for a grown, married man to have a teenage girl's phone number that he isn't related to, or isn't an employee of his. In this case, neither applies.

Now if it turns out her number wasn't actually stored as a contact but only on the phone because her dad dialed it immediately prior to shooting Mullins, that's a different story. And yet, her number was still dialed immediately prior so it's pretty obvious she's connected in some awful way to what her dad did.

jmo

I agree. I also think these families were close for years, maybe closer than some relatives? Also, maybe the children had a relationship? IDK. Stines called his daughter and she didn't answer, but she answered for the judge's number...
I think that phone call during the lunch from the employee (who's phone is in custody) is also pertinent.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Stines called his daughter and she didn't answer, but she answered for the judge's number...

RSBM -- do we actually know this? I only recall someone speculating on this. Was it confirmed in the hearing?

 

[vls12345]

I agree. I also think these families were close for years, maybe closer than some relatives? Also, maybe the children had a relationship? IDK. Stines called his daughter and she didn't answer, but she answered for the judge's number...
I think that phone call during the lunch from the employee (who's phone is in custody) is also pertinent.

RSBM -- do we actually know this? I only recall someone speculating on this. Was it confirmed in the hearing?

It was specified in the hearing. From @Allabouttrial's awesome transcript:

DEFENSE - And have officers confirmed that the Sheriff's daughter's phone number was on Judge Mullens' phone?

DETECTIVE - Yes.

DEFENSE - So that number had been called from Judge Mullens' phone?

DETECTIVE - Yes.

Full transcript here:

Post in thread 'Kentucky - Judge killed, sheriff arrested in Letcher County courthouse shooting - Sep. 19, 2024'

Oct 2, 2024

Erm I apologise in advance for the length....

PROBABLE CAUSE HEARING

1ST OCTOBER

PROSECUTOR - Can you state your name for the record?

DETECTIVE - Clayton Stamper.

PROSECUTOR - How are you employed?

DETECTIVE - I'm a detective with the Kentucky State Police assigned to post 13 hazard.

PROSECUTOR - How long have you been employed?

DETECTIVE - I've been with KSP a little over 24 years. A detective since 2006.

PROSECUTOR - And have you in the (inaudible), have you investigated the death of Kevin Mullins?

DETECTIVE...

• Allabouttrial

• 
• 
• 

 

[Ladyotm]

I do not want it to seem I'm excusing what happened. Is it possible to, Stines was experiencing some type of mental break down and was acting out at home? Maybe paranoid, verbal, or physically abusive and the daughter has reached out to the judge for help? Maybe the daughter's phone was used for Stines wife and the judge to communicate as they formulated a plan to get the family to safety? All just my opinion/thoughts on what could have happened.

 

[RANCH]

RSBM -- do we actually know this? I only recall someone speculating on this. Was it confirmed in the hearing?

I don't believe we heard that Stines daughter answered the call placed from the judges phone and not her fathers. JMO.

 

[RANCH]

I agree. I also think these families were close for years, maybe closer than some relatives? Also, maybe the children had a relationship? IDK. Stines called his daughter and she didn't answer, but she answered for the judge's number...
I think that phone call during the lunch from the employee (who's phone is in custody) is also pertinent.

I believe it was text messages sent by Stines to his employee about the lunch and not a phone call.

A woman reportedly employed by the Letcher County Sheriff’s Office also gave her phone to investigators to be examined. Stamper testified that she was one of Stines’ employees and believed she’d received text messages from Stines that detailed what occurred at lunch and ultimately led to the shooting.

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/former-letcher-county-sheriff-accused-of-killing-judge-to-appear-in-court/?nxsparam=1

 

[RANCH]

I noticed this from the link i posted above.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart told FOX 56 News on Wednesday that contrary to how it was stated in court, investigators won’t know if her number was saved in Mullins’ phone until forensic reports come back in a few weeks. However, the call log reportedly showed her number had been called prior to the shooting.

So LE doesn't know if Stines daughters phone number was saved in the judges phone contacts at this time. JMO.

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/former-letcher-county-sheriff-accused-of-killing-judge-to-appear-in-court/?nxsparam=1

 

[Seattle1]

I agree. I also think these families were close for years, maybe closer than some relatives? Also, maybe the children had a relationship? IDK. Stines called his daughter and she didn't answer, but she answered for the judge's number...
I think that phone call during the lunch from the employee (who's phone is in custody) is also pertinent.

From sworn testimony during the preliminary hearing, there is no confirmation that any call was answered. We only know that Stines used his phone, and the phone of Judge Mullins, to call his daughters phone.

 

[Vegasgrl]

From sworn testimony during the preliminary hearing, there is no confirmation that any call was answered. We only know that Stines used his phone, and the phone of Judge Mullins, to call his daughters phone.

Yes, thank you for the correction. I tried to go back and edit, but I don't have the option.

 

[Angelcat13]

Maybe it's just me, and maybe I'm way too old fashioned but as a mom of 6 girls I find it highly inappropriate for a grown, married man to have a teenage girl's phone number that he isn't related to, or isn't an employee of his. In this case, neither applies.

Now if it turns out her number wasn't actually stored as a contact but only on the phone because her dad dialed it immediately prior to shooting Mullins, that's a different story. And yet, her number was still dialed immediately prior so it's pretty obvious she's connected in some awful way to what her dad did.

jmo

If the Judge had the Sheriff’s daughter’s phone number STORED in his phone UNDER A FAKE NAME - to me it would most likely NOT be gor a legitimate/appropriate reason.

But if the Sheriff’s daughter’s phone number was stored in the Judge’s under her REAL NAME I wouldn’t be able to believe - beyond a reasonable doubt - that it was definitely for some nefarious reason. I live in a relatively small town - about 3,600 people, 2 Churches, 1 traffic light and most people know (or at least know of) almost everyone. My son just turned 21 y/o and we are good friends with his best friend since they were 4 y/o - they even dated twin sisters for about 3 yrs. I have the parents’ numbers in my phone along with my son’s friend & the friend’s older brother (who was in my daughter’s class & on the same co-ed winter indoor soccer team because we didn’t even have enough kids for a boys team a
nd a girls team. My point is, it could just be because the families had a good relationship. Maybe the daughter took care of pets, watered plants, brought in mail, etc if they were away and her number was in both the Judge’s phone AND his wife’s phone for purely innocent reasons. We just don’t know at this point.

 

[jlo6161a]

Perhaps the sheriff already had suspicions about the judge. He then feigned his inability to contact the daughter on his own phone as a ruse to access the judge's phone. The judge handed it over and the sheriff went directly to his contacts or recent calls. There he saw what he expected to see; that was enough to 'confirm' his suspicions and he immediately acted upon them.

 

[sloww_buurnnn]

Perhaps the sheriff already had suspicions about the judge. He then feigned his inability to contact the daughter on his own phone as a ruse to access the judge's phone. The judge handed it over and the sheriff went directly to his contacts or recent calls. There he saw what he expected to see; that was enough to 'confirm' his suspicions and he immediately acted upon them.

But using that logic, what would he have possibly seen that confirmed his suspicions? Other than the fact that his daughter ignored multiple calls from him but answered a random number — or the judge’s contact if she had it saved?

I’ll have to edit or post the article below, but a local article I read said that in the longer version of the video, Stines is seated while talking with Mullins and remains seated the entire time he is making the calls to his daughter, including the one call using the judge’s phone. It is then when the daughter answers that Stines gets up and shoots.

 

[sloww_buurnnn]

[bbm]

ok here we go
we knew there was more to the stories that he was the nicest guy ever

I came across that lawsuit today, too!
Congleton v. Stines, CIVIL ACTION NO. 7:19-20-KKC (E.D. Ky. Jun. 11, 2020)

This part of the ruling stood out to me and I would be oh so curious to know Congleton’s thoughts since the incident:

“Later in December, Congleton posted on social media that she did not support Stines in the 2018 election because "he simply does not have the moral compass or training to be a Sheriff." (DE 17-6, post.)”

I also found this piece from an article by Mountain Eagle to be rather telling as to how Stines might’ve felt having to be deposed that Monday regarding the lawsuit against him & Ben Fields:

“Stines’s response to the suit partly relies on a “sovereign immunity” defense, meaning that his attorney is arguing that he cannot be sued because he is a government official, and on a claim that she is not entitled to punitive damages.”

He had only just been elected when he was already using this defense and even the judge who ruled on the lawsuit mentioned how Stines was quite peeved that Congleton had been speaking out against him. Idk, IMO, that deposition he had to give on Monday somehow plays a big ol’ role in this whole thing.

 

[sunspun]

But using that logic, what would he have possibly seen that confirmed his suspicions? Other than the fact that his daughter ignored multiple calls from him but answered a random number — or the judge’s contact if she had it saved?

I’ll have to edit or post the article below, but a local article I read said that in the longer version of the video, Stines is seated while talking with Mullins and remains seated the entire time he is making the calls to his daughter, including the one call using the judge’s phone. It is then when the daughter answers that Stines gets up and shoots.

So it is confirmed that his daughter did answer when he called her from Judge's phone? If so, I wonder if he left the call open while he shot, meaning the daughter had to hear it all?

Also, I know Stamper mentioned in his testimony that Stines made more than one call from his own phone, before making the call from the judge's phone. But I've never heard anything about the other calls he made from his own phone. Who could he possibly have called at that time? How would that fit in with any of the possible explanations about what he was doing before he shot him? Who would he call before he called his daughter if he was seeing if she would pick up from the Judge's phone? Or for whatever reason? Did he talk to anyone else? Doesn't seem like there was enough time for him to make any other calls. Nothing about that makes any sense to me.

 

[sloww_buurnnn]

The chambers do look bigger now that we see this whole view of it, but still look so temporary somehow, especially, because if I recall, the courthouse itself is very nicely done, nicer than many of us expected for such a small town courthouse, according to comments I remember reading on the video when the interior courtroom was first shown. Compared to the nicer courthouse, the chambers don't look like much, like not much thought went into the decoration or interior design (or lack of it).

Video of incident is from Judge Mullin’s chambers at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, KY; population: 1,771 as of 2022. The gorgeous courtroom we saw during the preliminary hearing is miles away at the Morgan County Courthouse in West Liberty, KY; population: 3,434 as of 2022.

Morgan County Courthouse was built in 1907 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Letcher County Courthouse was built in 1964 and remodeled in the 90’s to what we see today.

With the county sheriff shooting and killing the district judge at the courthouse… it’s understandable why they had to move proceedings to another town.

 

[jlo6161a]

If so, I wonder if he left the call open while he shot, meaning the daughter had to hear it all?

I wondered that too. The judge's phone appears to be face up on the desk. It could be still be on. (Per Stamper, Stines phone was found on his person.)

There's a lot more questions to be answered obviously still. Including what was on the third phone: maybe there are communications/gossip between the sheriff and the other employee that might have helped riled him up.

 

[chaz]

I noticed this from the link i posted above.

So LE doesn't know if Stines daughters phone number was saved in the judges phone contacts at this time. JMO.

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/former-letcher-county-sheriff-accused-of-killing-judge-to-appear-in-court/?nxsparam=1

Isn't it seen on video what Stines did with the judge's phone? Like, tapping the screen, scroll en then tapping a contact. Or tapping a whole phone number? It's not in the part of video that we have seen is it?