Judge in Kentucky shot dead by sheriff in courthouse

LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (TND) — A judge in a Kentucky town was shot dead in the local courthouse on Thursday. The local sheriff surrendered without incident.

Governor Andy Beshear announced that a district judge in Letcher County, District Judge Kevin Mullins, was killed.

The judge was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said preliminary investigations showed that the local sheriff shot Mullins multiple times after an argument in the courthouse.

Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder, according to the Associated Press.

In his statement, Beshear also said: “There is far too much violence in this world and I pray there is a path to a better future.”

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said his office will work with a prosecutor in the region as a special prosecutor in the case.

“We will conduct a full investigation and seek justice,” Coleman said on social media.

Police said the investigation was still ongoing.

Mullins served as a district judge of Kentucky’s 47th District Court in Letcher County since his appointment by former Governor Steve Beshear in 2009 and was elected the following year.

Mullins was known for promoting substance abuse treatment for people involved with the justice system, helping hundreds of residents get 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, which provides peer support services in the courthouse. The program has been implemented in at least 50 counties in Kentucky.

Mullins was also a founding member of the Responsive Effort to Support Treatment in Opioid Recovery Efforts leadership team.

Editor’s note:The Associated Press contributed to this article.