A Kentucky sheriff charged with fatally shooting a judge inside his chambers on Thursday was accused in a lawsuit earlier this week of failing to investigate claims that a local deputy was sexually assaulting women who were under house arrest.  

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines, 43, was deposed in a lawsuit filed Monday by two women, one of whom alleged that a deputy forced her to have sex inside the same judge’s chambers where the shooting took place. The woman claims the deputy repeatedly sexually assaulted her for six months in exchange for staying out of jail. 

The lawsuit accuses the sheriff of “deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise” the deputy.

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The deposition came just three days before District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times at the Letcher County courthouse following an argument with Stines in Whitesburg, Kentucky State Police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Stines was taken into custody at the location without incident and was charged with one count of first-degree murder, police said. He is being held at nearby Leslie County Detention Center, two counties away.

It is unclear what the pair were arguing about or if it was in any way related to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit stems from a case involving the now-former deputy sheriff, Ben Fields, who pleaded guilty in January to raping a female prisoner while she was on home incarceration. 

Fields, who formerly worked as a deputy jailer, was sentenced this year to six months in jail and then six and a half years on probation for rape, sodomy, perjury and tampering with a prisoner monitoring device, The Mountain Eagle reported. Three charges related to a second woman were dismissed because she is now dead, having died from a drug overdose.

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District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, left, was allegedly killed by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, in his judge’s chambers, authorities said. (Kentucky Court of Justice; Letcher County Sheriff’s Office)

Prisoners under house arrest are required to pay for electronic monitoring, and the women claimed Fields told them he would not make them pay for the monitoring if they would do him “a favor,” per the outlet. 

Fields disabled the women’s devices and told the monitoring company that bail conditions had been changed, so the devices were not required. He then used threats of arrest to force the women to have sex with him, according to The Mountain Eagle.

The killing of the judge sent shock waves through the tight-knit Appalachian town. Whitesburg is the county seat of government with about 1,700 residents located about 145 miles southeast of Lexington.

Lead county prosecutor Matt Butler described an outpouring of sympathy as he recused himself and his office from the investigation, citing social and family ties to Mullins.

“We all know each other here. … Anyone from Letcher County would tell you that Judge Mullins and I married sisters and that we have children who are first cousins but act like siblings,” Butler said in a statement from his office to the Associated Press. “For that reason, among others, I have already taken steps to recuse myself and my entire office.”

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The judge was killed Thursday at Kentucky’s Letcher County Courthouse. (Google Maps)

Mullins served on the bench in the 47th Judicial District where he oversaw juvenile matters, city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, traffic offenses, arraignments, felony probable cause hearings, claims involving $2,500 or less, civil cases involving $5,000 or less, voluntary and involuntary mental commitments and domestic violence cases, according to the court website. 

He has served as a district judge in Letcher County since he was appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 and elected the following year. Mullins promoted 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. 

Fox News’ Louis Casiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Mark Pope and his staff have the Kentucky Wildcats currently sitting as one of the top recruiting classes in 2025. With Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno on board, the focus has now shifted to several top-40 prospects to pair alongside the talented duo.

By this point, the BBN is familiar with plenty of names, including 5-stars Caleb Wilson, Chris Cenac, Mikel Brown, and Nate Ament, not to mention the 4-star prospects Acaden Lewis and Braylon Mullins.

The Cats are well positioned with most of those names listed above, but according to one recent group of predictions, they may not be the favorites for any of the 5-star guys.

Jamie Shaw of On3 gave us an update this week of where his predictions would land as of today. He has UK in the mix for several but not the choice for any at the moment.

At the moment Shaw has Kentucky as a threat for Wilson (choice being Arkansas) and Cenac (LSU). For Ament (Duke) and Brown (Louisville), the Cats don’t receive any mention outside of the upcoming visit for Brown at the end of September.

Things overall though still seem to be in a good place for the Cats as they really start to hone in on the prospects they will be looking to add to the 2025 class.

Should be fun to watch down the stretch.

A Sea of Blue comes loaded with Kentucky Wildcats news, analysis, and other fun stuff, so ‘like’ our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. Go CATS!

A judge in a rural Kentucky county was shot and killed in his courthouse chambers Thursday, and the local sheriff was charged with murder, police said.

The preliminary investigation indicates Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines shot District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times following an argument inside the courthouse, according to Kentucky State Police. Mullins, 54, was shot multiple times and died at the scene. Stines, 43, surrendered without incident, officials said, and he has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. The investigation is continuing, police said.

Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said that he was “shocked by this act of violence” and that the court system was “shaken by this news.”

The Letcher County courthouse in Whitesburg, 146 miles southeast of Lexington near the Virginia border, has been ordered closed on Friday.

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

Kentucky Atty. Gen. Russell Coleman said his office will collaborate with a commonwealth’s attorney in the region as special prosecutors in the criminal case.

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

Mullins was appointed as a district judge in Letcher County in 2009 by former Gov. Steve Beshear; Mullins was 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.

Schreiner writes for the Associated Press.