A Kentucky sheriff, Shawn Stines, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder after fatally shooting District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, inside his chambers at the Letcher County courthouse. The shooting followed an argument between Stines and Mullins in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Stines was taken into custody without incident and is currently held at Leslie County Detention Center.
Earlier this week, Stines was deposed in a lawsuit accusing him of failing to investigate claims of a local deputy, Ben Fields, sexually assaulting women under house arrest. One woman alleged that Fields forced her to have sex in the same judge's chambers where the shooting occurred. Fields, a former deputy sheriff, pleaded guilty to raping a female prisoner while on home incarceration and was sentenced to jail time and probation for multiple charges.
