Extended surveillance footage shows the chilling minutes before a Kentucky sheriff shot his good friend and local judge in his own chambers.
Former Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines is accused of shooting and killing Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins in September 2024.
The alleged murder came after the two men had a long interaction in Mullins’ chamber inside the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg.
Recently released footage of the interaction shows a group of people – two women and two men – gathering around Mullins’s desk on September 19, 2024.
At 2:39pm, Stines is seen entering the room with another man and appears to ask everyone except Mullins to leave.
The two men, who had just been out for lunch together, are then shown sitting down opposite each other. At two points, Stines stands up to open the chamber door and peer outside into the hallway.
After chatting for a few minutes, Stines pulls out his cell phone and appears to call someone. Minutes later, he does the same thing again. It is unclear who he was calling.
The former sheriff then appears to ask Mullins to hand over his phone. After the judge complies, Stines holds both of the phones and tries to make another call, this time on the judge’s phone.
Former Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines (pictured) is accused of shooting and killing Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins in September 2024
The alleged killing of Judge Kevin Mullins (pictured) came after the two men had an extended interaction in Mullins’s chamber within the Letcher County Courthouse
The footage then shows Stines stand up and lift his shirt to reveal a gun holstered on his hip, causing the judge to take notice and raise his hands in the air.
At 2:51pm, Stines is seen pointing the gun at Mullins and eventually firing at him as the judge tries to cover.
Stine then leaves the room before returning briefly. He turned himself into the police at around 3pm.
Kentucky State Police arrested the sheriff minutes later and their attempts to interview him in the courthouse hallway were filmed on bodycam.
However, their attempts were unsuccessful as they spent the entire time trying to assure a very paranoid Stines that they weren’t going to kill him.
The latest footage from inside the chamber helps paint a clearer picture of what led up to last year’s shocking shooting, which rocked the small town.
Stines and Mullins both played important roles in the community and were close friends who frequently ate lunch together.
The men’s closeness is evident in the footage. While Stines appears confrontational, Mullins seems to be comfortable in the former sheriff’s presence, up until the weapon is revealed.
At 2:39pm, Stines is seen entering the room with another man and appears to ask everyone except Mullins to leave
The former sheriff then appears to ask Mullins to hand over his phone. After the judge complies, Stines holds both of the phones and tries to make another call, this time on the judge’s phone
At 2:51pm, Stines suddenly stood up and took his handgun out of his holster before shooting Mullins
The surveillance was released without audio, but body language expert Susan Constantine told Fox News that it was clear the sheriff ‘was ready to go the minute he walked in.’
By contrast, Mullins ‘is very nonchalant, very carefree’, she said, as he sat smoking a cigarette and did not appear to understand the imminent danger he was in.
‘The sheriff then leans in, he’s obviously got something on his mind because he’s in an action stance,’ Constantine said.
‘I think the fact that [Mullins] is shrugging it off, I think that created more angst towards the judge because he wasn’t taking it seriously, whatever was being spoken about, and he’s kind of playing it off like it wasn’t a big deal… And the more he played it out, ‘this is not a big deal,’ the more angry Stines became.’
The former sheriff had previously indicated he was preparing an insanity defense in court, and his attorneys said the shooting was the result of ‘fear for the safety of his wife and daughter.’
Police have not offered details of a motive behind the shooting, though Stines’ attorneys said it came after testimony he gave at a deposition where he answered questions about one of his deputies allegedly sexually assaulting jail inmates in Mullins’ chambers.
