This undated photo provided by the Kentucky State Court shows slain District Judge Kevin Mullins.
Kentucky Courthouse (via The Associated Press)
A rural Kentucky county judge was shot and killed in his courtroom Thursday, and a local sheriff has been charged with murder, police said.
According to Kentucky State Police, a preliminary investigation determined that Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Steens shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an altercation inside the courthouse. Mullins, who served as a judge for 15 years, died at the scene, while Steens emerged uninjured.
The deadly shooting in Whiteburg shocked the tight-knit Appalachian Mountain town and county seat of about 1,700 residents, located about 145 miles (235 kilometers) southeast of Lexington.
Matt Butler, the county’s chief prosecutor, recused himself and his office from the shooting investigation because of Mullins’ social and family ties, but said he has received an outpouring of sympathy.
“We all know each other here, and anyone in Letcher County will tell you that Judge Mullins and I are sisters, married, and have children who are cousins but act like siblings,” Butler said in a statement from her office. “As such, I have already taken steps to resign myself and my entire office.”
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will work with state attorneys in the region as special prosecutors in the criminal case.
“We will thoroughly investigate this and seek justice,” Coleman said on social media.
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawrence B. Van Meter said he was “shocked by this act of violence” and that the court system was “reeling from this news.”
The Letcher County judge’s chief judge signed an order Friday to close the courthouse where the shooting occurred.
Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times in the shooting, according to Kentucky State Police. Stines, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder. The investigation is ongoing, police said.
It was unclear whether Stines had an attorney. Kentucky State Police on Thursday referred questions about Stines’ attorney to a spokesman, who did not respond to an email message.
“There is too much violence in this world. I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a social media post following the shooting.
Mullins had served as a district judge in Letcher County since being appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.
Mullins is known for promoting substance abuse treatment for people involved with the justice system, and has helped hundreds of residents access inpatient treatment, according to a Drug Summit program he spoke at in 2022. He also helped develop a program called “Addiction Recovery Care” that provides peer support services in courts, which has been adopted by at least 50 counties in Kentucky.
Mullins also served as a founding member of the Response Initiative Leadership Team to support treatment in opioid recovery efforts.
Several schools in the area were temporarily placed on lockdown following the shooting.
