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

[bestill]

This sounds highly personal to me. First they're just talking, then the Sheriff gets up and locks the door. They exchange phones!? After looking at the judge's phone he shoots him dead with 8 bullets!! That's rage at whatever was on the judge's phone and the phone the sheriff handed to the judge. I don't think that was the Sheriff's own phone he handed to the judge. MO

BBM - Interesting! I had not thought of that.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I think this was far more personal than the issue with the deputy. I also don't think this was preplanned. The Sheriff in my opinion went crazy with rage, suddenly I think, because of the 8 shots fired. If preplanned I think he would have coldly just shot once, which was enough to kill him.

I agree. This was rage, and that level of rage is very, very personal. 8 shots is not just murder, it's annihilation.
It'll be interesting to finally hear the motive from the sheriff himself. If it was something that was contained on those phones, that will also be verified & documented.

jmo

 

[MrsWatson]

One of the articles recently posted said the Sheriff fired him.

Sorry, I knew the Sheriff is the one who actually fired him, I didn't word it well. I meant the Judge could have started the whole thing by discovering the deputy and his victim and it angered the Sheriff that he was tied up in the whole sordid thing.

I'm probably way off base, but just imagining scenarios, all jmo.

 

[Elley Mae]

In Kentucky, sheriffs are responsible for security at courthouses – including the personal security of judges – according to Jerry Wagner, a retired sheriff who is now the executive director of the Kentucky Sheriff’s Association.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/20/us/kentucky-judge-mullins-shot-friday/index.html

 

[KonaHonu]

The stmt in second ¶ below --- Mullins being the District Judge, "until Sept. 2024" ---caught my attn, as it is attributed to info on the county website, retrieved MAY 2024. Retrieved in MAY?

"District judge
"The district judge manages juvenile issues, city and county laws, misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, probate of wills, arraignments, domestic violence and abuse, and small civil issues. Until September 2024, the district judge was Kevin R. Mullins.[62]"
^ 62. "Letcher County". www.letchercounty.ky.gov. Retrieved May 13, 2024.

If you look at the page history you will see that the page was edited after the killing.

 

[Knox]

https://www.facebook.com/GovAndyBeshear/posts/pfbid02FKkghe5k1zy2F6zpSXeGuLTobi7R9rt1XpmDu3NEDiZBdtMJA1LTvjUMxWnbi8Fbl

Governor Andy Beshear

Governor Andy Beshear. 290,755 likes · 17,693 talking about this. Official facebook page of the 63rd Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Posts by Andy signed AB.

www.facebook.com

Interesting comments on the Governor's post.

 

[Cryptic]

They exchange phones (without the judge questioning or protesting) like they have done this before.

Could the phone exchange be some kind of clumsy "fail safe" centered on uhhmmm..... "extracurricular activities" of the corrupt kind?

For example, each holds incriminating evidence against the other on their phone. They are accustomed to verifying the existence of the mutually incriminating evidence (phone exchange)? Thus, less likely to turn against each other?

The possibility seems strange- but then again, the whole case is bizarre.

 

[Cryptic]

ETA: What if the Judge's phone received a call and the caller was not someone the Sheriff expected to see?
Pure speculation on my part.

I think its good speculation. But, would evidence of a call, with out knowing the context, trigger a killing rage?

 

[al66pine]

Motive?

Thanks for the explanation. I wasn't precise and wasn't considering the prosecution of the case. My point was thinking about what could trigger the sheriff in this situation to murder the judge and the information on the phones would tell the story.
As for the trial I have no opinion. Justice comes in many forms in "them thar hills".
Ebm

@Kudzuu Thanks for your post.
Yes, me too, thinking about possible motives.
What specifically prompted the sheriff's actions?

Were his suspicions slowly warming, over time (hours, days, months?) simmering, finally coming to a boil, and then some info (cell phone, a text or call, maybe that afternoon) finally blowing the lid off? Could be, but many other possibilities.

 

[Seattle1]

“It’s just unimaginable. I don’t know what happened. Or what the reason was. I know Kentucky State Police are investigating it, and I feel confident that they will hopefully provide some answers on why. Maybe that will be able to help us all heal. The entire community, we’re all just in shock. They both were well liked.”

Watts said the two worked closely together. As Mullins started a program to help inmates with substance abuse disorders, and Stines helped drive those people to and from appointments. Which makes the situation even harder for him to wrap his mind around.

Friend and colleague asking why after Kentucky sheriff accused of murdering judge

“We’ve not only lost our sheriff and district judge, but I’ve lost two personal friends I worked with daily.”

www.wkyt.com

From earlier accounts, Stines was Mullins bailiff for many years prior to being elected Sheriff in 2018 (and re-elected in 2022), and would have indeed worked closely with the Judge that he shot eight times.

The former deputy (Fields) convicted of assaulting women inside the Judges Chambers was then Mullins bailiff -- which explains his easy access to the Court and the Judges Chambers.

This is a very small community -- Letcher County population only 20K and Whitesburg, the county seat, only about 1700.

I'm very sorry for this close community and the families.

Sentencing is set for ex-deputy - The Mountain Eagle

Sentencing is set for January 4 for a former Letcher County deputy sheriff who has pleaded guilty to charges that he forced a woman on home incarceration to have sex with him in exchange for turning off her monitoring bracelet. Ben Fields, who was a court security officer for the sheriff ’s...

www.themountaineagle.com

 

[Seattle1]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1837479436129566818

From the quoted link:

Like Watts, many were shocked to hear Stines is potentially behind the deadly shooting as he's known around town as a 'family man.'

'I know Mickey’s character. And I know there had to be something that did it,' Patty Wood, the widow of District Judge Jim Wood - Mullins predecessor - told the outlet. 'You couldn’t find a better person on the face of the earth than Mickey Stines. I don’t know what happened.

'I just cannot believe that he just went in and shot him for no reason.'

Jennifer L. Taylor, a Whitesburg attorney, said Stines was gearing up to retirement and had mentioned he might go to law school.

She said the officer 'took his time' to listen to people. Others remembered how the sheriff took efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

 

[Seattle1]

If the judge is the one who started the ball rolling on the lawsuit, firing the deputy, etc, my thought was that maybe the sheriff was angry with him for exposing it.

The civil lawsuit seeking monetary damages was filed in federal jurisdiction so this did not involve the fallen District Court Judge. Also, the former deputy convicted of SA was bailiff to the Judge which explains his easy access to both the Court and the Judge's Chambers. MOO

 

[bestill]

Judge Mullins obit - Kevin Russell Mullins - View Obituary & Service Information

 

[tara83]

https://www.facebook.com/GovAndyBeshear/posts/pfbid02FKkghe5k1zy2F6zpSXeGuLTobi7R9rt1XpmDu3NEDiZBdtMJA1LTvjUMxWnbi8Fbl

Governor Andy Beshear

Governor Andy Beshear. 290,755 likes · 17,693 talking about this. Official facebook page of the 63rd Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Posts by Andy signed AB.

www.facebook.com

Interesting comments on the Governor's post.

Yes same old rumors with zero proof.

 

[MassGuy]

Judge Mullins obit - Kevin Russell Mullins - View Obituary & Service Information

We’ve heard lots of things in regards to motive, and none of them are verified. Lets just say there is a motive that would make the judge look bad though; if I was the family I’d want him buried as soon as possible, so the funeral didn’t take place under a cloud of suspicion.

That could very well be the case here, but time will tell.

 

[Bounceycat]

We’ve heard lots of things in regards to motive, and none of them are verified. Lets just say there is a motive that would make the judge look bad though; if I was the family I’d want him buried as soon as possible, so the funeral didn’t take place under a cloud of suspicion.

That could very well be the case here, but time will tell.

I thought exactly the same when I saw his funeral date. Was surprised for a minute before my mind went where yours did.

 

[MassGuy]

I thought exactly the same when I saw his funeral date. Was surprised for a minute before my mind went where yours did.

I mean, we could of course be reading something into nothing, but it’s what I would do if certain things were true.

Right now all we have is the small town rumor mill, and I can’t wait for facts to come out here.

We just have to treat what we read with a great deal of skepticism, as it wouldn’t be the first time a completely inaccurate picture has been painted in the early days of a murder case.

A couple times I’ve wound up feeling pretty stupid.

 

[Moaneeca]

Seriously. Makes me think that this was a quick and rash decision, something was discovered and the sheriff reacted immediately.

Reminds me of John Grisham's The Reckoning.

 

[IceIce9]

https://www.facebook.com/GovAndyBeshear/posts/pfbid02FKkghe5k1zy2F6zpSXeGuLTobi7R9rt1XpmDu3NEDiZBdtMJA1LTvjUMxWnbi8Fbl

Governor Andy Beshear

Governor Andy Beshear. 290,755 likes · 17,693 talking about this. Official facebook page of the 63rd Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Posts by Andy signed AB.

www.facebook.com

Interesting comments on the Governor's post.

There’s the motive, if true

 

[RANCH]

I don't do Facebook and I think that making any conclusions about a motive in this case from Facebook comments is premature.