Kentucky sheriff charged with shooting judge inside courthouse

A Kentucky judge is dead and the county’s sheriff is in jail accused of shooting him multiple times Thursday inside the courthouse.

Local and national news outlets reported that Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines was arrested at the courthouse in Whitesburg, southeast of Lexington, after an argument with the judge led to gunfire. District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, died at the scene, the Associated Press and Louisville Courier Journal reported.

Kentucky State Police are investigating the incident, which officials described as unprecedented and shocking.

“There is far too much violence in this world and I pray there is a way to a better tomorrow,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said in a social media post.

Authorities have not provided a possible motive for the shooting or what the argument was about. Mullins, a judge for 15 years, was known for promoting substance abuse treatment for people in the justice system, the AP noted.

Stines, 43, the sheriff since 2018, was named as a defendant in a 2022 lawsuit that alleged a former deputy forced a woman to have sex in the judge’s chambers. Sines fired the deputy but was required to take a deposition in the case, the Louisville newspaper reported.

Mullins’ husband may qualify for workers’ compensation death benefits if the shooting is determined to be work-related. Court rulings across the country have found that eligibility depends on the particular circumstances of an injury, including the shooter’s motive.

Related: Employer Can’t Deny Shooting Compensation Claim, Then Argues Immunity

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