Video taken in the chambers of a Letcher County district judge shows the sheriff shooting him.
The video, shown publicly for the first time Tuesday, showed then-Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines standing and Letcher District Judge Kevin Mullins with his hands up. Stines then shot Mullins.
The judge fell and then tried to get up, and Stines shot him several more times. Women can be heard crying loudly in the background.
The information emerged Tuesday during a preliminary hearing for Stines at the Morgan County Judicial Center.
Detective Clayton Stamper of the Kentucky State Police testified that four witnesses — who were not named — were in the next room, calling for help.
Stines, 43, is charged with murder in the Sept. 19 shooting death of Mullins, 54.
Stines allegedly shot Mullins multiple times in Mullins’ office at the county courthouse and then surrendered to police.
Stamper testified that additional video surveillance showed Stines looking at Mullins’ phone several times and then using his phone and Mullins’ phone to try to call Stines’ daughter before the shooting.
Phone records confirm Stines’ daughter was contacted, Stamper said.
Earlier that day, Stamper testified that Mullins and Stines had lunch at a restaurant near the courthouse. Stamper testified that the judge made a statement to Stines during lunch and asked the sheriff, “Should we meet in private?”
Stines has been in jail since the shooting and announced Monday that he would retire.
Police had previously said Stines and Mullins had had a brief argument before the shooting but had not released any information about a possible motive.
The hearing for Stines on Tuesday was for Judge Rupert Wilhoit III to decide whether there was probable cause to believe Stines committed the crime, allowing the case to go to a grand jury for a decision on whether to indict Stines.
That’s a lower standard than what would be required for a conviction at trial, and judges typically find probable cause and have cases sent to the grand jury.
