Investigators are looking into the motive behind the shocking murder of a Kentucky judge. The suspect was a sheriff and a close friend of the judge. The two reportedly had lunch together hours before the judge was shot and killed earlier this month.
As Blaze News previously reported, Letcher County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, is accused of fatally shooting 53-year-old Judge Kevin Mullins on September 19th.
“No one I know can understand what happened between lunch and the judge's death.”
Stines is accused of entering the Letcher County Circuit Court judge's office without permission and shooting Mullins eight times. Mullins was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff reportedly left the courtroom with his hands up after the shooting and was taken into custody without incident.
Stines has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges.
Surveillance camera footage from inside the cell showed the two men exchanging cellphones and looking at something on their phones before a deputy approached and shot the judge, police said. a person involved said. mountain eagle.
“Detectives have seized two cell phones and are currently analyzing them,” Kentucky State Police Officer Matt Gayhart said Sunday.
The shooting is particularly interesting because Stein and Mullins have reportedly been friends for decades.
moreover, daily mail Hours before the shooting, the two reported going to eat lunch at Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street.
A restaurant employee told the magazine that Stein and Mullins ordered their usual lunch. Both came with chicken wings and salad.
“Everything seemed to be going well between them. There was no clue that anything was wrong,” the employee said. “I never would have imagined there would be the slightest problem.”
The employee continued, “It's safe to say the judge and the sheriff had a lot of business for me. They'd been coming here for lunch together for years. “No one can understand what happened between that time and the judge's death,” he added.
Mike Watts, secretary of the Letcher circuit, told the Mountain Eagle, “I didn't know there was any friction between the two parties until this happened. We were all getting along and making fun of each other.”
Mr. Stein served as Judge Mullins' bailiff until becoming sheriff in 2018. Ben Fields replaced Stines as Mullins bailiff.
Mr. Field was found to have forced a female prisoner to perform sex acts inside Judge Mullins' room. The woman claimed she was promised “preferential treatment for sexual entertainment.”
Earlier this year, Fields pleaded guilty to raping a female inmate while on home confinement.
Fields was sentenced to six months in prison, then suspended for six and a half years, for rape, sodomy, perjury and tampering with prisoner monitoring equipment. Three charges against the second woman were dismissed because she is now deceased.
Stines fired Fields for “unusual conduct.” delivery journal Reported.
Days before the shooting, Mr. Stein was ousted in a lawsuit filed by two women, one of whom was Fields' victim. civil lawsuit blame Stines “deliberate indifference without proper training and supervision,” Fields, a former deputy, said.
When asked if a “sex scandal” could have been a motive for the judge's shooting, Officer Gayheart admitted, “That's true.” We do not exclude the possibility of a motive. ”
Gayheart did not elaborate on the sex scandal in question.
Pointing to the gossip swirling about the motive for the murder, Mountain Eagle said, “Rumors that are clearly untrue are circulating within the community and inflaming other relationships. “It's divided between those who are passionate about it and those who are determined to protect the people.” They considered the families of the two men to be pillars of the community. ”
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