Kentucky sheriff charged in slaying of judge at courthouse

WHITESBURG, Ky. (AP) — A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed at the local courthouse on Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged in the shocking slaying, police said.

The governor said the judge was fatally shot in his chambers. The preliminary investigation indicates that the sheriff shot Mullins following an argument inside the courthouse, police said.

District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was hit multiple times in the shooting, Kentucky State Police said. The judge was pronounced dead at the scene.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, was taken into custody at the scene without incident, police said. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.

The investigation is continuing, police said.

Responding to the shooting in a social media post, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said: “There is far too much violence in this world, and I pray there is a path to a better tomorrow.”

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will collaborate with a commonwealth's attorney in the region as special prosecutors in the case.

“We will fully investigate and pursue justice,” Coleman said on social media.

The shooting occurred at the Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg. The Appalachian town in southeastern Kentucky is 146 miles (235 kilometers) southeast of Lexington, Kentucky.

The shooting is being investigated by Kentucky State Police. State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart called it an isolated incident and said there was no threat to the public. But he offered no details about the shooting.

Mullins served as a district judge for Kentucky’s 47th District Court in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year.

Mullins was known for promoting substance abuse treatment for people involved in the justice system and helped hundreds of residents enter inpatient residential treatment, according to a program for a drug summit he spoke at in 2022. He also helped develop a program called Addiction Recovery Care to offer peer support services in the courthouse. The program was adopted in at least 50 counties in Kentucky.

Mullins also served as a founding member of the Responsive Effort to Support Treatment in Opioid Recovery Efforts Leadership Team.

Several area schools were briefly placed on lockdown, including Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College and Letcher County Schools, according to media reports.