Kentucky Sheriff Is Accused of Killing Judge After Calling Daughter on Victim's Phone, Which Had Number Stored: Police

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of District Judge Kevin Mullins

A Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a judge in his chambers allegedly did so after calling his daughter on the victim's telephone, which had his daughter's number stored on it, according to police.

At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 1, Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified that former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, attempted to call his daughter on his own phone and then on 54-year-old District Judge Kevin Mullins’ phone prior to the shooting, The Associated Press reported.

“I was told that Sheriff Stines had tried to call his daughter, and he had tried to call his daughter from the judge’s phone also,” Stamper testified, per CNN.

Stamper said Stines’ daughter’s phone number was stored on Mullins’ phone, per the AP.

The fatal shooting of Mullins occurred in his chambers in the city of Whitesburg on Sept. 19.

When questioned if the killing happened because of what Stines might have seen on the phone, Stamper responded: “It could be, but I don’t know that for a fact,” the AP reported.

Footage of the shooting was presented during the hearing by prosecutors at Morgan County District Court, per the Louisville Courier Journal.

Related: Ky. Sheriff Charged with Murder After District Judge Found Dead in His Chamber

The short video clip, which did not include audio, appeared to show Stines firing at the judge multiple times while the judge was sitting at his desk and then after when he fell to the floor, according to NPR.

According to a Letcher County website, Mullins presided over the 47th District Judicial District, which oversees "ordinances, misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, probate of wills, arraignments, felony probable cause hearings, small claims involving $2,500 or less, civil cases involving $5,000 or less, voluntary and involuntary mental commitments and cases relating to domestic violence and abuse."

Stines served as the bailiff in Mullins’ courtroom before he became sheriff in 2018, per the Courier Journal.

The two men had eaten lunch earlier that day with a handful of people, Stamper testified, per the Courier Journal.

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“I was told that the judge made a statement to Mickey about, ‘Do we need to meet private in my chambers?’” Stamper testified, according to the AP.

Stamper said Stines didn’t divulge a motive behind the slaying.

“I talked to him, but he didn’t say nothing about why this had happened," Stamper testified, per the AP. "But he was calm. … Basically, all he said was, ‘Treat me fair.’”

Stamper also mentioned that when Stines was taken into custody, “I was told by one of the other officers there that he made the comment, ‘They’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid,’” he alleged, according to CNN.

Defense attorney Jeremy Bartlett told Judge Rupert Wilhoit that prosecutors “established probable cause for manslaughter first, but not murder,” per CNN.

Stines resigned earlier this week as sheriff.

At the end of the hearing, Wilhoit determined there was enough evidence for the first-degree murder case to go to a grand jury, per CNN.

Stines has pleaded not guilty. His defense attorney could not be reached for comment.

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