Insets, left to right: Letcher County (Ky.) Sheriff Shawn Stines (CBS/YouTube); Letcher District Judge Kevin Mullins (Kentucky Court of Justice via AP). Background: Outside the Letcher County Courthouse in Kentucky (WHAS).
A Kentucky sheriff has been charged with shooting and killing a judge in his chambers during an argument.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Letcher District Judge Kevin D. Mullins, 54, police said in a news conference.
The reason for the alleged conflict was not immediately clear.
“We know that it was an argument between the two … but what exactly transpired prior to the shots being fired, that’s still something we’re trying to get answers to,” State Trooper Matt Gayheart told reporters on Thursday, according to local news affiliate WJHL.
The bloodshed unfolded on Thursday afternoon before 3 p.m. at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg, in southeastern Kentucky. The sheriff allegedly walked into the court and told court employees and others he needed to talk to Mullins alone before the two entered the judge’s chambers, The Mountain Eagle reported. Stines allegedly shot the judge, then surrendered to police, officials said.
