Sobs echoed in a small Kentucky town courtroom Tuesday as footage played of a local sheriff gunning down a judge after finding his daughter’s number in the jurist’s phone.
Lechter County Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines, 43, the accused killer, appeared on CCTV footage inside the inner chamber of his old ‘friend’, District Court Judge Kevin Mullins.
In the chilling clip played in the opening minutes of his preliminary hearing, Stines repeatedly shot Mullins, 54, as he sat behind his desk.
Mullins attempted to climb behind the desk and chair in the corner of the room as Stines continued shooting.
In perhaps the video’s most chilling moment, the sheriff goes to leave, but stops when his hand is on the door handle, pushes the desk chair to the side, and fires a couple more shots at the judge, before finally leave the room.
In chilling footage played in the opening minutes of his preliminary hearing Tuesday, Stines repeatedly shot Mullins, 54, as he sat behind his desk.
Mullins attempted to hide behind the desk and chair in the corner of the room as Stines continued shooting, before finally leaving the room.
The sheriff wiped his eyes as he listened to testimony Tuesday.
As the video played, sobbing could be heard from the public gallery. Two women could be seen comforting each other after watching the horrifying clip.
The court heard that Stines had found his daughter’s number on Mullins’ phone and had attempted to call his daughter from the judge’s phone, amid continued speculation about a possible motive for the shooting.
As MailOnline exclusively reported last month, just hours before the shooting, the sheriff and the judge, who were long friends, shared an outdoor table at the popular Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street for lunch, just a few hundreds of meters from the courthouse.
The couple were lunchtime regulars at the sports bar and on that fateful Thursday they ordered the usual: They both had wings and salad for $13.99.
‘Everything seemed fine between them. There was no clue that anything was wrong,” one of the staff who treated them that day told DailyMail.com.
‘You wouldn’t have guessed there was the slightest problem.
The court heard that surveillance video also showed Stines looking at Mullins’ phone several times and then using his and Mullins’ phones to try to call his daughter before the shooting.
The court heard that Stines had found his daughter’s number on Mullins’ phone and had tried to call his daughter from the judge’s phone.
Discovering his daughter’s number on the phone, he jumped to his feet within “seconds”, the court heard. Then he opened fire.
Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified that during lunch the couple appeared to argue. “I’m told the judge made a statement to Mickey about, ‘Do we need to meet privately in my chambers?’ That’s all they told me,” Stamper said.
No further background was shared.
The video and new details come as the court seeks to determine whether there is enough evidence for Stines to face a grand jury.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.
The judge found probable cause and allowed the case to go to a grand jury.
Police allege Stines shot Mullins to death at the Whitesburg County Courthouse Kentucky on September 19.
Lechter County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, is accused of shooting his “friend,” District Court Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, in Kentucky County Court in September.
Mullins was appointed to serve as a judge in the state’s 47th District under former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009.
According to Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper, lead investigator on the case, in the moments before the alleged shooting the men appeared to be having a conversation using their cell phones.
“Stines uses his phone to make some calls, then borrows the judge’s phone and appears to make a call, and that led to what he just saw,” Stamper told the court.
The duo had been having lunch earlier that day with several other friends, one of whom reported that Mullins asked Stines, “Do we need to meet privately, in my rooms?”
During cross-examination, Stamper was asked if he had any evidence to suggest this shooting was premeditated.
The video comes as the court seeks to determine whether there is enough evidence for Stines to face a grand jury. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
Mullins appeared in court via video link from the Leslie County Jail, 50 miles from Whitesburg.
“No,” he said.
He was then asked if there was any evidence so far to show that the shooting “was not a reaction to what was on that phone.”
“No,” he said again.
Stamper confirmed in court that Stines’ daughter has been questioned by police. The interview took place in the presence of his mother.
Three cell phones in total are currently in a forensic laboratory being downloaded and will be part of the investigation.
Police allege that Stines entered the judge’s outer office, told court employees he needed to speak with Mullins alone, and then proceeded to shoot him once they entered the inner office.
Stines then emerged with his hands raised and surrendered to the officers, who handcuffed him. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
Mullins was appointed to serve as judge in the state’s 47th District under former Governor Steve Beshear in 2009.
Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022
Stines and Mullins had worked together on drug policy in the rural Kentucky county that has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic.
Oversaw juvenile matters, city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, traffic violations, arraignments, probable cause hearings for serious crimes, claims of $2,500 or less, civil cases of $5,000 or less, voluntary and involuntary mental commitments, and cases of domestic violence. according to a Letcher County website.
Mullins also gained recognition for his efforts to treat those suffering from drug addiction instead of incarcerating them. He began a program in 2010 that allowed inmates with substance abuse disorders to enroll in inpatient treatment as a condition of pretrial release.
Previously he was an assistant commonwealth’s attorney for nine and a half years, focusing on drug crimes.
Meanwhile, Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
The two men were reportedly friends for 20 years before the incident.
Stines could face the death penalty if convicted of murder because Mullins was a public official.
