The Sheriff That killed A Judge

A Kentucky sheriff walked into a judge's chambers and executed him. Now he's blaming tick bites.

On September 19, 2024, Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines had lunch with District Judge Kevin Mullins — a man he'd worked alongside for years and once served as bailiff.

Hours later, after a 7-minute private conversation, Stines locked the chamber door, drew his service weapon, and fired 9 rounds. Seven hit the judge while he was already on the ground. All of it caught on courthouse video. Stines walked out with his hands up.

In the days before, he'd come undone: lost 40 pounds in two weeks, placed calls to dead relatives, told staff shadowy forces were coming to kill his wife and daughter. He had someone put a bulletproof vest on his wife. The day before the shooting, a doctor diagnosed "acute stress reaction" and sent him home.

Days earlier, Stines had endured a grueling deposition in a federal lawsuit tied to a deputy who'd extorted women for sex inside that same courthouse.

Now in 2026, Stines has admitted the killing — but claims a rare tick-borne brain illness left him with "no control" over his actions. He's building an insanity defense. Prosecutors aren't buying it.

Two years later, the motive is still officially unknown.