Video of fatal shooting of Kentucky judge by accused county sheriff shown in court

WEST LIBERTY, Ky. — With former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines in court Tuesday, attendees at a hearing about the killing of District Court Judge Kevin Mullins heard testimony about motive and saw footage of the shooting, which investigators said followed calls to the sheriff's daughter.

The video clip was less than a minute long and did not include audio. In it, a man identified by police as Stines is shown firing multiple times at the judge behind his desk and then leaving the scene.

Supporters of the judge cried in court as the video was shown.

Stines, who last week entered an initial plea of not guilty, has been charged with murder in the death of Mullins, who was shot and killed in his private chambers on Sept. 19 inside the Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg.

Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified the full video shows Stines using his own phone to make multiple calls, then using the judge’s phone to make a call. The shooting followed.

In testimony, Stamper said the calls were to Stines’ daughter. The phones have been sent to forensic teams for examination, Stamper said, though his daughter’s phone has not been examined. Stamper said the daughter's phone number had been saved in the judge's phone and was called before the shooting.

The two men went to lunch earlier in the day with multiple other people, Stamper said. The detective said a witness said at one point Mullins asked Stines if they needed to meet privately, though the context was unclear. Stamper said witnesses are still being interviewed.

Stamper added Stines was “mostly calm” when he was interviewed after being taken into custody, though he didn’t offer a motive.

“Basically, all he said was, ‘treat me fair,‘“ the detective said.

When asked by defense attorney Jeremy Bartley whether Stines said anything about "protecting his family" when he was taken into custody, Stamper said Stines allegedly made a comment that, "They're trying to kidnap my wife and kid."

After the hearing, Bartley said more information will come as the investigation continues. He declined to speculate on a motive for the shooting outside of what was discussed in court.

"I left the hearing today with a lot of questions still unanswered myself," he said, stressing that Tuesday's discussion was just a preliminary hearing. "We hoped that there may be more light that would be shed on the preceding events."

Bartley, in his first court appearance after being hired by Stines last week, said he has not seen the longer video but said he believes the moments that occurred before the shooting are "just as important as the portion we saw." The full version should be viewed when the case advances to circuit court, he said.

Stines was joined by a public defender in last week's video arraignment as Judge Rupert Wilhoit and Commonwealth's Attorney Jackie Steele — who is prosecuting the case alongside state Attorney General Russell Coleman — pushed for him to retain an attorney.

Stines announced Monday that he was retiring from his position as sheriff. Gov. Andy Beshear had called for Stines to resign last week in a letter he sent the then-sheriff while in jail in Leslie County.

The shooting at the center of the case took place on Sept. 19 just before 3 p.m. Stines, who surrendered at the scene, has been accused of shooting Mullins in his private chambers while other courthouse workers were in the building. The two men were friends, local residents say, and Stines served as a bailiff in Mullins' court for several years before being elected sheriff in 2018.

Wilhoit allowed the case to move forward to a grand jury at the conclusion of the hearing. Stines' next court date has not been announced.

Reporter Rachel Smith contributed. Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)