Former KY sheriff charged with killing judge plans to argue ‘insanity’ defense
A former Eastern Kentucky sheriff charged with killing a district judge plans to use an insanity defense, court documents show.
Shawn “Mickey” Stines, the former Letcher County Sheriff, was charged with the murder of the county’s district judge, Kevin Mullins last fall.
Mullins, 54, of Jackhorn, was shot multiple times around 3:05 p.m. on September 19, 2024, inside his Whitesburg court chambers. Stines, 43, of McRoberts, was arrested without incident and charged with first-degree murder that same day.
But according to an order filed Feb. 27 in Letcher Circuit Court, Stines plans to make a defense of insanity or extreme emotional disturbance.
His attorney, Jeremy Bartley, previously indicated their defense may center on a claim that Stines was mentally incapacitated at the time of the shooting.
If a jury decides Stines acted out of extreme emotional disturbance, he couldn’t be convicted of murder, but rather first-degree manslaughter or a lesser crime. The death penalty would not be an option in that case.
In response to the defense’s motion, prosecutors ordered an evaluation to be conducted by the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center.
A psychologist or psychiatrist will examine Stines to determine if he meets the criteria for “insanity” by possessing a mental disability, or lacking the capacity to understand the criminality of his acts.
The shooting was captured in a 24-second surveillance clip inside the courthouse.
While in custody, Stines retired from his position as sheriff two weeks after the shooting. He pleaded not guilty to murder Nov. 26, 2024.
Federal disposition ‘crucial’ to the defense’s case
At Stines’ last court hearing in November 2024, Bartley said deposition Stines gave a few days before the shooting would be crucial to establish their defense.
The 196-page deposition, taken Sept. 16, 2024, and published in court documents Feb. 7, was part of a separate, federal investigation of Stines’ office. But the deposition, Bartley said, was a key piece of the story that led to the shooting that rocked the small Eastern Kentucky town of Whitesburg.
The investigation was related to a lawsuit that claimed Stines failed to properly supervise a deputy who coerced a woman into having sex in Mullins’ office.
Stines said he first learned of the allegations when a reporter called about the lawsuit being filed. That prompted him to discuss the allegations with Fields, and shortly after, resulted in his decision to terminate Fields. Stines mostly said he did not recall specifics.
Stines also told the investigator he had “episodes” caused by California encephalitis — a neurological disease caused by bug bites.
During the episodes, which Stines said are sometimes stress-induced, he experiences dizziness, sweating and headaches. He also said the episodes can cause memory loss, according to the court transcripts.
California encephalitis is acute inflammation of the brain that can cause symptoms ranging from headaches to seizures.
A deposition is sworn testimony that parties to a lawsuit solicit from the other side before trial.
Authorities said Stines and Mullins argued before the shooting, but they have given no other indication of motive.
What the federal lawsuit alleges
The lawsuit for which Stines was deposed was filed in federal court in January 2022 by a woman who alleged that Ben Fields, then a deputy under Stines, had coerced her into having sex with him in return for letting her avoid paying home incarceration fees.
The woman, Sabrina Adkins, had been in jail but was let out on home incarceration and was required to pay a fee for the monitoring device on her ankle.
Adkins said she didn’t want to have sexual contact with Fields but went along with him because she couldn’t afford the fee and didn’t want to go back to jail.
Fields took Adkins to Mullins’ office in the courthouse for sex several times because there were no cameras in the office, according to the complaint.
A second woman, Jennifer Hill, later joined the lawsuit, alleging that Fields coerced her into having sex with him in his car outside her home by threatening to have her home incarceration revoked.
Fields was a security officer in court, but the lawsuit did not allege that Mullins knew anything about Fields’ actions. It did allege that Stines failed to properly supervise Fields.
No upcoming court date has been set for Stines.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 12:13 PM.
