Janice R. Andrews
Kentucky District Judge Kevin Mullins was shot and killed in his office at the Letcher County Courthouse on Thursday. It was a terrible and shocking event. KY State Police say that 43-year-old Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines has been arrested and charged with killing the judge.
Just before 3 p.m. ET, someone called 911 to say that gunshots had been heard inside the building. When police arrived, they found Mullins, 54, with multiple gunshot wounds in his rooms. Even though people tried to save Mullins’ life, he was declared dead at the scene.
An argument between Stines and Mullins inside the building is said to have led to the fight that ended in the killing, but the exact reason is still being looked into. The police did not say at a press meeting Thursday night if the sheriff had used his service weapon during the incident. Stines was arrested without a fight and charged with murder in the first degree. Reports say that he is helping the police.
People were reassured by State Trooper Matt Gayheart, who said that the shooting was an isolated event that did not pose a further danger to the community.
Russell Coleman, the attorney general of Kentucky, said that his office and Jackie Steele, the Commonwealth’s attorney, will work together to prosecute the case.
The Kentucky Court of Justice said they were very sorry about what happened and offered their full support to the police during the probe. Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter of the Kentucky Supreme Court said he was “shocked by this act of violence” and sent his sympathies to Mullins’ family and the people of Letcher County.
Judge Kevin Mullins had been in charge of Letcher County since 2009 and was known for how hard he worked in the court system. He taught law at the University of Louisville. The Letcher County Courthouse will be closed on Friday because of the terrible event.
