Kentucky sheriff charged in killing of judge at courthouse

FRANKFORT, Ky. —  A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed in his courthouse chambers Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged with murder, police said.

The preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument inside the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police. Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. Stines, 43, surrendered without incident, officials said, and he has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. The investigation is continuing, police said.

Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said that he was “shocked by this act of violence” and that the court system was “shaken by this news.”

The Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg, 146 miles southeast of Lexington near the Virginia border, has been ordered closed on Friday.

Responding to the shooting, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a social media post: “There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.”

Kentucky Atty. Gen. Russell Coleman said his office will collaborate with a commonwealth’s attorney in the region as special prosecutors in the criminal case.

“We will fully investigate and pursue justice,” Coleman said on social media.

Mullins was appointed as a district judge in Letcher County in 2009 by former Gov. Steve Beshear; Mullins was elected the following year.

Mullins was known for promoting substance abuse treatment for people involved in the justice system and helped hundreds of residents enter inpatient residential treatment, according to a program for a drug summit he spoke at in 2022. He also helped develop a program called Addiction Recovery Care to offer peer support services in the courthouse. The program was adopted in at least 50 counties in Kentucky.

Mullins also served as a founding member of the Responsive Effort to Support Treatment in Opioid Recovery Efforts Leadership Team.

Schreiner writes for the Associated Press.