Kentucky judge fatally shot inside his chambers by local sheriff, police say. Here’s what we know so far.

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Kentucky judge fatally shot inside his chambers by local sheriff, police say. Here’s what we know so far.

A judge was fatally shot in his chambers by a local sheriff after an argument at a courthouse in Whitesburg, ***., on Thursday, state police say.

District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was pronounced ***** at the scene. Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, was arrested and charged with *******.

“Sadly, I have been informed that a district judge in Letcher County was shot and ******* in his chambers this afternoon,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wrote in

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. “There is far too much ********* in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.”

What happened?

The ********* happened at approximately 2:55 p.m. Thursday when Kentucky State Police received a 911 call from the Letcher County Courthouse “in reference to shots being fired from inside the building,” state trooper Matt Gayheart

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

Several law enforcement agencies and emergency medical services responded to the scene and found Mullins with multiple gunshot wounds. “Lifesaving measures were attempted but unsuccessful,” Gayheart said.

Stines was taken into custody at the scene without incident and charged with one count of *******.

What was the reaction?

The ********* sent shockwaves through Whitesburg, a town with a population of approximately 1,700 located 145 miles southeast of Lexington.

“This community is small in nature,” Gayheart said at a news conference on Thursday evening. “And we’re all shook.”

Matt Butler, the lead prosecutor for Letcher County,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

he is recusing himself from the case because of close family ties to the slain judge.

“We all know each other here. For example, anyone from Letcher County would tell you that Judge Mullins and I married a pair of sisters and that we have children who are first cousins but act like siblings,” Butler said. “For that reason, among others, I have already taken steps to recuse myself and my entire office.”

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will appoint special prosecutors to “fully investigate and pursue justice.”

What we know about the victim and the suspect

Mullins has served as a district judge for Kentucky’s 47th District Court in Letcher County since 2010. Before his judicial appointment, Mullins served as assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Letcher County and primarily focused on *****-related offenses, according to CNN.

The Associated Press reports that Mullins “was known for promoting substance ****** treatment for people involved in the justice system and helped hundreds of residents enter inpatient residential treatment.”

He had recently been

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

on mental health.

Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and reelected in 2022.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, Stines has been named a defendant in two federal lawsuits as sheriff, including one “involving a former sheriff deputy who was accused of ********* abusing an inmate.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Kentucky #judge #fatally #shot #chambers #local #sheriff #police #Heres

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up