Sobs erupt as court is shown footage of Kentucky sheriff killing judge… as shocking possible motive is hinted at

Sobs rang out in a small-town Kentucky courtroom Tuesday as footage was played of a local sheriff shooting dead a judge after finding his daughter’s number on the jurist’s phone.  

Lechter County Sheriff Shawn ‘Mickey’ Stines, 43, the accused killer, appeared in the CCTV footage inside the inner chamber of his longtime ‘friend’, District Court Judge Kevin Mullins.

In the chilling clip played in the opening minutes of his preliminary hearing, Stines repeatedly shot Mullins, 54, as he sat behind his desk.

Mullins attempted to scramble behind the desk and chair in the corner of the room while Stines continued firing shots. 

In perhaps the video’s most chilling moment, the sheriff then goes to leave, but stops as his hand is on the door handle, shoves aside the desk chair and fires a couple more shots into the judge, before eventually walking out of the room.

In the chilling footage played in the opening minutes of his preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Stines repeatedly shot Mullins, 54, as he sat behind his desk

Mullins attempted to cower behind the desk and chair in the corner of the room while Stines continued firing shots, before eventually walking out of the room

The sheriff wiped his eyes as he listened to testimony on Tuesday

As the video was played, sobs could be heard from the public gallery. Two women could be seen comforting one another after viewing the horrific clip. 

The court heard Stines had found his daughter’s number in Mullins’ phone, and had tried to call his daughter from the judge’s phone, amid ongoing speculation about a potential motive for the shooting.

As DailyMail.com exclusively reported last month, just hours before the shooting, the sheriff and judge, who were longtime friends, shared an outside table at the popular Streetside Grill & Bar on Main Street for lunch, only a few hundred yards from the courthouse.

The pair were lunchtime regulars together at the sports bar and on that fateful Thursday ordered their usual – both having the $13.99 wings with salad.

‘Everything seemed fine between them. There was no clue that anything was wrong at all,’ one of the staff attending them that day told DailyMail.com.

‘You wouldn’t have guessed there was the slightest problem.

The court heard that surveillance video also showed Stines looking at Mullins’ phone several times and then using his phone and Mullins’ phone to try and call his daughter before the shooting. 

The court heard Stines had found his daughter’s number in Mullins’ phone, and had tried to call his daughter from the judge’s phone

Upon discovering his daughter’s number in the phone, he jumped to his feet within ‘seconds’, the court heard. He then opened fire. 

Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified that during the lunch the pair had appeared to argue. ‘I was told that judge made a statement to Mickey about, ‘Do we need to meet private in my chambers?’ That’s all I was told,” Stamper said.

No further background was shared. 

The video and new details come as the court seeks to determine whether there is enough evidence for Stines to face a grand jury. 

He entered a not guilty plea on a charge of murder.

The judge determined there was probable cause and allowed the case to proceed to a grand jury. 

Police allege Stines shot Mullins dead at the County Courthouse in Whitesburg  Kentucky on September 19.

Lechter County Sheriff Mickey Stines, 43, is accused of shooting his ‘friend’, District Court Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, at the County Courthouse in Kentucky in September 

Mullins was appointed to serve as a judge in the state’s 47th district under former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009 

According to Kentucky State Police detective Clayton Stamper, who is the lead investigator on the case, in the moments before the alleged shooting the men appeared to be having a conversation using their mobile phones.

‘Stines uses his telephone to make some phone calls, he then borrows judge’s phone and seems to make a call on that, and that led to what you just saw,’ Stamper told the court.

The duo had been at lunch earlier in the day with several other friends, one of whom reported that Mullins asked Stines: ‘Do we need to meet private, in my chambers?’

Under cross examination, Stamper was asked whether he has any evidence to suggest this shooting was premeditated.

The video comes as the court seeks to determine whether there is enough evidence for Stines to face a grand jury. He entered a not guilty plea on a charge of murder

Mullins appeared in court via videolink from Leslie County Jail, 50 miles from Whitesburg

‘No,’ he said.

He was then asked if there was any evidence so far which would demonstrate the shooting ‘was not a reaction to what was on that phone.’

‘No,’ he said again.

Stamper confirmed in court that Stines’ daughter has been interviewed by police. The interview took place in the presence of her mother.

Three cell phones in total are currently at a forensic lab being downloaded and will form part of the investigation.

Police allege Stines walked into the judge’s outer office, told court employees he needed to speak to Mullins alone, then proceeded to shoot him once they entered the inner office.

Stines then walked out with his hands raised and surrendered to officers, who placed him in handcuffs. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder.

Mullins was appointed to serve as a judge in the state’s 47th district under former Gov. Steve Beshear in 2009.

Stines was elected sheriff in 2018 and reelected in 2022 

Stines and Mullins had worked together on drug policy in the rural Kentucky county that has been badly hit by the opioid epidemic 

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 a Letcher County website.

Mullins also gained recognition for his efforts to treat those with drug addiction rather than incarcerate them. He started a program in 2010 that allowed inmates with substance abuse disorders to enroll in inpatient treatment as a condition of pretrial release. 

He was previously an assistant commonwealth attorney for nine and a half years, focusing on drug-related offenses. 

Stines, meanwhile, was elected sheriff in 2018 and reelected in 2022. 

The two men were reportedly friends for 20 years before the incident.

Stines could face the death penalty if convicted of murder because Mullins was a public official.