Video of Kentucky judge's death shown during court hearing

WEST LIBERTY, Ky. (AP) — A video showing a Kentucky judge being shot in his chambers was played Tuesday during a court hearing for the ex-sheriff charged with murder stunned her Appalachian community.

The short video clip was presented by the prosecution during the preliminary hearing for Shawn “Mickey” Stines. He was Letcher County sheriff when police said he walked into District Judge Kevin Mullins' chambers on Sept. 19 and opened fire.

Mullins, 54, who served as judge for 15 years, died at the scene, and Stines, 43, surrendered without incident. Stines resigned as sheriff Monday.

The audio-free video showed a man identified by police as Stines pulling out a gun and shooting at the judge, who was sitting at his desk. The man walked around the desk, pointed the gun at the judge – who had fallen to the floor – and fired again, it was revealed. Some people in the courtroom sobbed as the video played while Stines looked down.

Mullins died of multiple gunshot wounds, Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified Tuesday. Stines pleaded not guilty to murder last week and is being held in another Kentucky county.

Police have not offered a motive for the shooting, which involved two prominent members of the county near the Virginia border, but Stines' defense team delved into the events beforehand – first when Stines and Mullins met at the meeting that day lunch, and then in the moments before the shooting.

Stamper, the lead police investigator in the case, said he viewed a video that showed Mullins' chambers shortly before the shooting – a segment that was not played at the hearing.

When asked to describe what he saw, Stamper responded, “Sheriff Stines is using his phone to make some phone calls. He then borrows Judge Mullins’ cell phone and appears to use it to call.”

Stamper said he was told Stines tried to call his daughter on his phone and the judge's phone. He said police confirmed that Stines' daughter's phone number was on the judge's phone.

As for Stines' reaction when he looked at the judge's cellphone, Stamper said Stines' face was not visible in the video. The judge's phone was later found on his desk and Stines' phone was with him when he was arrested, Stamper said.

Investigators said they found no evidence that the shooting was planned.

“It happened after a phone call was made,” Stamper later said. “I don’t know what was said.”

Asked if the shooting was the result of content recently found on the phone, Stamper replied: “It could be, but I don't know for sure.”

Both phones would be downloaded to a police forensic lab, he said.

Asked if he was aware of any previous personal or professional issues between the ex-sheriff and the judge, Stamper said he had “heard things” regarding a lawsuit involving the sheriff's office.

Stines was deposed in a lawsuit brought by two women, one of whom alleged that a deputy sheriff forced her to have sex in Mullins' chambers for six months in exchange for her not going to prison. The lawsuit accuses the current sheriff of “deliberate indifference by failing to adequately train and supervise the deputy.”

The former deputy sheriff pleaded guilty to raping the female prisoner while she was in home confinement. Stines fired the deputy for “inappropriate conduct” after the lawsuit was filed in 2022, the Courier Journal reported.

During the hearing, more details emerged about the events before and after the judge was shot.

Police investigators did not find a weapon on Mullins or in his rooms, Stamper said.

On the day of the shooting, Mullins and Stines met several other people for lunch at a restaurant near the courthouse in Whitesburg, the detective said.

“I was told that the judge made a statement to Mickey: 'Do we have to meet privately in my chambers?'” Stamper said, adding that he didn't know what it was about.

A handful of people were in a room next to Mullins' chambers when the shots rang out. Stines was in custody when he arrived at the courthouse, Stamper said.

“He was mostly calm, I thought,” Stamper said. “I spoke to him but he didn't say anything about why this happened. But he was calm. … Basically all he said was, 'Treat me fairly.'”

At the end of the hearing, Judge Rupert Wilhoit III concluded that there was probable cause to believe that Stines committed the crime and allowed the case to be sent to a grand jury to decide whether to indict Stines.

Stines' defense team said it left the hearing with more questions than answers and said it was conducting its own “parallel investigation” of the case.

If convicted of murder, Stines faces 20 years to life in prison. Since he is accused of killing an officer, he could potentially face the death penalty.

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Schreiner reported from Frankfort, Kentucky.