Kentucky courthouse where sheriff allegedly killed judge plagued by sex abuse allegations: lawsuit

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08-05-2025

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In September 2024, authorities said former Letcher County, Kentucky Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines unexpectedly shot District Judge Kevin Mullins, who he had known for decades, in Mullins' chambers.
The shooting, which was caught on surveillance footage, rocked the small eastern Kentucky town of Whitesburg and has subsequently captivated the true crime world.
The events that led to the shooting, according to Stines' attorney, began years earlier with a civil lawsuit against a former Letcher County Sheriff's deputy for allegedly raping a female defendant who was out on bond.
That lawsuit also named Stines as a defendant.
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The following is a full timeline of events that provide context for the shooting: Jan. 31, 2022: Woman files civil sexual abuse suit
A woman named Sabrina Adkins filed a civil lawsuit against former Letcher County Sheriff's Deputy Ben Fields, claiming that he had exploited her for sexual favors when she was on home incarceration.
According to the suit, Adkins was struggling to find housing and to pay for her GPS ankle monitor when Fields told her he was sure they could "work something out." She alleged that Fields coerced her into sexual activity six times inside Mullins' chambers in return for taking off her ankle monitor while she was on home incarceration, and dropped the fee associated with the ankle monitor.
When she stopped providing the sexual favors, she was arrested, according to the lawsuit.
Stines, who was Fields' supervisor, was named as a defendant in that lawsuit, which claimed that he failed to adequately train and supervise Fields.
Her attorney in the civil suit, which is ongoing, is Ned Pillersdorf. He said that on one occasion, Fields directed Adkins to provide sexual favors to a third party, and that there were other women who Fields similarly abused.
"Just my general concern as a criminal defense lawyer … they were running a brothel out of that courthouse," Pillersdorf told Fox News Digital. "I mean, the pimping – at least three women we know of, though I think it's higher."
"[Fields] pimped Adkins out to this other guy," he said. "He pimped her out to some connection Fields had, this guy."
"If you're a woman caught up in an ankle bracelet or a drug court, you know, a simple phone call to the judge, you might be in jail," he said. "So they're so easy to extort, these women think they won't be believed."
After the allegations were made, a camera was mounted on the wall of Mullins' chambers. Sept. 29, 2022: Former Letcher County Sheriff's deputy indicted
Months after the civil suit was filed, Fields was indicted on two counts of third-degree rape, two counts of third-degree sodomy, three counts of tampering with a prisoner monitoring device and one count of second-degree perjury in relation to the Adkins case.
Adkins said in a deposition with Investigator Matthew Easter in the criminal case that sex in exchange for favorable treatment in the criminal justice system in Letcher County was common, and that many other women had faced the same exploitation.
SIGN UP TO GET THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER Jan. 4, 2024: Fields is sentenced to prison in the rape case
Fields pleaded guilty to all charges in his criminal case, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Sept. 16, 2024: Stines is deposed in Adkins' civil lawsuit
Months after Fields had reported to jail, Stines was deposed in Adkins' civil suit.
According to Stines' attorney, Jeremy Bartley, in the several days before the deposition, Stines had become extremely paranoid, sleepless, and worried about the safety of his family.
"This civil suit had drawn a lot of attention to things that were happening in the courthouse," Bartley said. "And in fact, if you look at it, it was because of this lawsuit – the reason that there had been a camera placed in the judge's chambers, which is highly unusual, highly unusual to have such concern that the administrative office of courts puts a security camera in a judge's chambers."
Alleged threats against his family drove Stines over the edge, Bartley said.
KENTUCKY SHERIFF SEEN IN FOOTAGE SHOOTING AT JUDGE IN SHOCKING PRELIMINARY HEARING
"On the day that this [shooting] happened, my client had attempted multiple times to contact his wife and daughter, and he firmly believed that they were in danger," Bartley said.
"He believed that they were in danger because of what he knew to have happened within the courthouse. And there was pressure, and there were threats made to him to sort of keep him in line, to keep them from saying more than these folks wanted him to say." Sept. 19, 2024, midday: Stines, Mullins and friends have lunch
In the middle of the day, Stines and Mullins, along with coworkers from the courthouse, ate lunch together at StreetSide Bar & Grill, which was within walking distance of the courthouse.
According to video obtained by Fox News Digital, people who were in the courthouse when the shots rang out were interviewed by the Kentucky State Police just after the shooting, and described Stines as acting oddly before and during lunch.
"This morning, Mickey came over [to the courthouse] … he just seemed a little off," said one witness. "But he was just like, walking back and forth, all around."
"He was acting strange at lunch," another witness said, noting that part of the lunch conversation was about Stines' potential reelection as sheriff.
"I don't know if this matters, but I'm going to tell you anyways because it's odd to me," the witness told a detective. "He leaned back in his chair at lunch, and they were talking about reelection. He said, 'Oh I'll never make it to the next election.'" Sept. 19, 2024, afternoon: Stines and friend deliver food
In the hours just before the shooting, Stines and his friend Michael Clark, who works for a drug rehabilitation company that partners with the county, took a drive to deliver food to a handicapped person who could not leave the house, according to Bartley.
"In the period of time after my client left lunch with the folks from the courthouse, he and another person by the name of Michael Clark went to purchase materials," Bartley said. "They went out and picked up lunch and other food stuff for a food box that they were delivering to a person who was sick or had some limitations that they weren't able to get the food that they needed. And so they left. They went shopping for those items."
He explained that this was routine for Stines, and that normally, the person to whom Stines delivered the food was home when he arrived. That day, he wasn't, which fueled more paranoia.
"When they went to deliver these items … the family of the gentleman indicated that he was at another location," he said. "This caused a lot of concern from my client. So they dropped the food box with the family, and then they left and went back to the courthouse."
Clark spoke with Fox News Digital earlier this week about the delivery incident.
"He was paranoid all day," Clark said.
"So we went to a place to deliver the food, and it was at a different house or a different location than he thought [it] should have been," Clark said. "I didn't even really know where we were going. I just went with him because, you know, we participated in that and helped with it. And, you know, just kind of, I guess it might have made it worse. I don't know, whatever he was struggling with that day." Sept. 19, 2024, later afternoon: Mullins shot in chambers
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In the surveillance video taken from Mullins' chambers, a group of people could be seen cordially chatting with the judge for more than 12 minutes before Stines walked into the office and asked everyone to leave.
In the next seven minutes, Stines and Mullins talked privately before Stines stood up and seemingly locked the door of the chambers.
Mullins then handed his phone over to Stines.
After looking through the judge's phone, Stines placed a call to his daughter from the judge's phone that went unanswered before tossing the phone back onto the judge's desk. Stines can be seen in the video typing in his daughter's number while he looks at his own phone for reference of the number. Stines' daughter did not appear to be saved in Mullins' contacts.
He then allegedly stood up, unholstered his pistol, and moved menacingly toward Mullins before opening fire at point-blank range, killing the judge. Sept. 19, 2024, night: Kentucky State Police hold news conference
After conducting witness interviews at the scene, the Kentucky State Police held a news conference describing the events of the day.
"Preliminary investigation indicated that Sheriff Mickey Shawn Stines fired at District Court Judge Kevin Mullins following an argument inside the courthouse," a trooper told reporters.
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He added that Stines was taken into custody without incident, and was cooperative with law enforcement, which is corroborated by video obtained by Fox News Digital. Nov. 21, 2024: Grand jury indicts Stines
NEW VIDEO SHOWS KENTUCKY SHERIFF POINTING GUN AT JUDGE BEFORE ALLEGED FATAL SHOOTING
In November, a grand jury indicted Stines. The one-sentence indictment charges Stines with murder.
"On or about the 19th of September, 2024, in Letcher County, Kentucky, the above named defendant committed the offense of murder when he unlawfully shot Letcher County District Court Judge Kevin Mullins, thereby causing his death; against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Kentucky," according to the indictment. Since the indictment:
Since Stines was indicted, Bartley, his defense attorney, has made several motions on his behalf.
Most notably, Bartley filed a motion telling the court he is planning an insanity defense, and that he "intends to present a defense of insanity, as well as a defense of extreme emotional disturbance."
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The filing says that he also "intends to present expert evidence relating to a mental disease or defect or mental condition bearing on the issue of guilt and punishment."
Prosecuting attorney Jackie Steele did not return a comment request.