Inside Kentucky’s Most Shocking Courthouse Killing

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Absolute chaos at the courthouse in Lecher County, Kentucky as Judge Kevin Mullins is shot in his own chambers. And the whole thing was caught on video. And it was the sheriff Mickey Stein who did it. If >> I leave this building, I won't draw another brand. Y'all are going to kill me.

[00:00:20]>> It's the same courthouse in Chambers where a deputy was caught in a sextortion scandal. What is going on in Lecher County, Kentucky? What are your thoughts about the sheriff?

[00:00:31]>> He's my hero. I mean, I'm sure that he's not a perfect man. Nobody is, but he's my hero regardless.

[00:00:39]>> The sheriff was paranoid that his family was in danger. And there are some who believe there is some truth to that.

[00:00:45]>> On the phone, I'm going to see my daughter in person, and then after that, I'll tell you everything. The big question that everyone still wants to know, why did Sheriff Mickey Stein shoot Judge Kevin Mullins?

[00:01:01]The video you're going to see is absolutely shocking. Everything caught on camera. Judge Kevin Mullins being shot in his own chambers by the local sheriff. The same chambers where a woman had been sexually extorted by a deputy.

[00:01:18]The sheriff is in the middle of a civil lawsuit for that extortion.

[00:01:24]And that week he was deposed. That week he shot and killed the judge. The video I'm going to show you may explain exactly what was going on and may in fact keep the sheriff from being convicted of murder. I'm Vinnie Palletan. Let's investigate.

[00:01:59]It was all caught on camera. It was all caught on camera. The buildup to the shooting, the shooting itself, and all of the aftermath. Because there are cameras throughout the courthouse in Lecher County, Kentucky. Mickey Stein's very popular local locally elected sheriff and and Judge Kevin Mullins who was the local judge. These guys have known each other for years.

[00:02:23]Yet somehow someway on that day Mickey Stein decided to shoot and kill his friend, the judge Kevin Mullins on camera in his chambers. Now think about that for a minute. Why were there cameras there to begin with? Why would there be cameras inside a judge's chambers? I mean, my dad was a judge.

[00:02:43]Trust me, there are no cameras inside his chambers. I practice law. I've never been inside any judge's chambers where there were video cameras recording everything that was happening. This is bizarro world. This is this is unprecedented.

[00:03:01]A a live stream of what's happening inside a judge's private chambers. Well, the reason they're there is a big part of what happened that day. There was a sex scandal that took place in Judge Kevin Mullen's chambers.

[00:03:21]What happened? His baiff, a deputy, was criminally convicted of extorting an inmate for sex. And all of this took place in the judge's chambers before there were cameras.

[00:03:34]So after this happens, part of the result of this is now we're going to put cameras in there. But how on earth does this take place? How does a deputy end up extorting an inmate, a female inmate for sex? Well, it's because they can't afford to pay for the monitors, those ankle monitors, where someone is released from jail and able to live their lives, but you've got to pay a monthly bill. So instead of paying the monthly bill, this woman and allegedly others were being extorted.

[00:04:08]And that was the basis of a civil lawsuit against that deputy. But it also named Sheriff Mickey Stein as a defendant because he's in charge.

[00:04:19]Now, there were no specific allegations that Mickey Stein himself was involved in extorting these women for sex. No specific allegations. But the lawsuit was just beginning.

[00:04:30]Likewise, there were no specific allegations that Judge Kevin Mullins was extorting women for sex, but it was happening in his chambers.

[00:04:42]So, this civil lawsuit was sort of unearthing and uncovering a lot of corruption in Lecher County, Kentucky.

[00:04:52]And this was very concerning. Obviously, everyone's talking about it, but people are concerned about, all right, who is going to be revealed as doing something wrong here? What does Sheriff Mickey Stein know?

[00:05:07]Who could he possibly name in his deposition?

[00:05:14]So, because he's one of the defendants in the civil lawsuit, like any defendant in any civil lawsuit, the plaintiff is deposing him and asking him questions about what he knew. And that's all taking place earlier in the week. And I've spoken with the lawyer who was in the room and he described Mickey Stein as being a little bit off. There was something strange about Mickey Stein.

[00:05:37]This civil lawsuit was weighing heavily on his mind. He was paranoid about this lawsuit.

[00:05:45]And it wasn't just about losing the lawsuit and perhaps, I don't know, having to pay some money, although insurance should cover all of it. It was about what he knew, who he could expose, and who wanted to keep him quiet.

[00:06:04]That was the genesis of this paranoia that the people that he could potentially talk about in this civil lawsuit during his depos deposition could do harm to him or more importantly his family, his wife and his daughter.

[00:06:24]So Sheriff Mickey Stein so concerned about this was wondering was his family in danger?

[00:06:31]And I'm going to show you the video.

[00:06:32]This this this video becomes the the absolute um um foundation for his defense at trial, which is in his mind his family was in danger because of what was going on with this lawsuit and he was afraid and that fear turned into paranoia and that paranoia made him fire that weapon. So, let's get into it. Let's take a look at Sheriff Mickey Stein as he speaks as we get to hear what's going on inside his mind.

[00:07:05]>> Why you going to transport me in a vehicle for?

[00:07:08]>> Probably not to put you in Ledger County Jail. I mean >> why?

[00:07:11]>> Just probably because I don't know though. I don't know that that's happening.

[00:07:14]>> You don't mind to be down there?

[00:07:16]>> You don't mind to be down there?

[00:07:17]>> They'll put me in >> Well, I mean, we we'll talk about that, you know.

[00:07:22]I have to talk to see what the logistics is down there.

[00:07:26]>> I got to get put in a vehicle and go outside.

[00:07:29]>> Well, yeah, I understand why why you're worried, but uh at the same time, you know how it is with something like this.

[00:07:36]We're going to be worried about you in the jail down here with local people.

[00:07:40]>> Right now, I'm alive and well, no weapons on me.

[00:07:42]>> So, if I leave this building, I won't draw another breath. Read him Miranda before you.

[00:07:50]>> Well, I'm I'm going to They're all locked.

[00:07:54]>> Okay. Well, um Nick, you know Miranda, I'm going to read it to you here real fast.

[00:08:01]>> Where's Miranda?

[00:08:03]>> The Miranda warning.

[00:08:04]>> What is it?

[00:08:05]>> For your rights before you talk to me.

[00:08:07]I'll read it to you. If you have any questions, you can ask me. Okay. You have the right to remain silent.

[00:08:12]Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford attorney, one may be appointed to you before any question.

[00:08:23]You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?

[00:08:34]>> You do? Okay. I mean, I'll read it again if you want me to.

[00:08:37]>> Do you want me to read it again or hey, do you want me to read it again or do you understand them?

[00:08:44]Do you understand them or do you want me to read it again? I don't care. It's up to you.

[00:08:54]>> Hold it there for one second. The significance of this video, which is extremely rare in a case where someone is going to claim some sort of mental disease or defect, legal insanity.

[00:09:05]That's the standard, right?

[00:09:07]You rarely have video of the defendant immediately after the crime that he's been charged with. This is just moments after he has shot and killed Judge Kevin Mullins. He has surrendered himself.

[00:09:20]He's been put into cuffs and now he's being questioned. So, his state of mind at this moment is the most important part of the case and what you're seeing and what you're hearing. Obviously, there'll be experts testifying in trial interpreting this, but the juryy's going to see this. The jury's going to hear this and they'll make their own evaluations the way all of us right now are making our evaluations and there's something's off. Like first they didn't know what Miranda was and then he's he's telling the deputies the minute I leave this building I'm done. I won't breathe another breath.

[00:09:53]He believes that if he's if he leaves the courthouse in Lech County, they're going to take him somewhere and kill him.

[00:10:01]Again, arguably part of the paranoia taking place in the mind of Sheriff Stein. Let's watch some more.

[00:10:12]>> Okay. So, I just read those to you.

[00:10:14]Okay.

[00:10:15]>> Um, >> so do you understand these rights?

[00:10:20]>> Do you understand the rights?

[00:10:21]>> What are you saying?

[00:10:22]>> Do do you understand the rights? I can't hear you.

[00:10:24]>> Okay, I'll speak up louder. Listen to me. Okay. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.

[00:10:32]You have the right to attorney to have one present during any question. If you cannot afford an attorney, one may be appointed to you before any question.

[00:10:39]You have you can decide at any time to exercise these rights and don't answer any questions or make any statements. Do you understand these rights?

[00:10:47]Okay. Keeping these uh rights in mind, do you wish to talk to me now? You had told me earlier you was ready to talk about it.

[00:11:08]If we go down to the jail and cameras and stuff at the jail, I don't want to get in the electricity.

[00:11:14]>> I don't want to go out and get in a vehicle, guys. We'll try.

[00:11:17]>> At some point, you have to do that.

[00:11:18]>> We'll figure something out. We'll >> How about a room right here for right now?

[00:11:22]>> Yeah, we're we're just doing a room right here. My body cams, >> Nikki, you know me. I would never do anything to you or her. Is that what you're worried that for escort? Cuz at some point, you're leaving this building. Is that what you're worried about?

[00:11:33]>> I want as many officers as you can get to take me somewhere.

[00:11:36]>> Downstairs to the jail here.

[00:11:38]>> We can make that >> downstairs to the jail here.

[00:11:42]>> Okay.

[00:11:44]Right there. You see? Right there. You see he wants to remain in the jail in Lecher County. That's where he feels safe. But if you're the sheriff of Lecher County, they can't put you in the Lecher County jail because those are all the people who've been arrested by you and your deputies. So obviously, it's not a safe place for the Leer County Sheriff. So they've got to transport him to another jurisdiction to try to protect him. But he feels in his mind what he's expressing is that if you transport me, that's when things get dangerous.

[00:12:21]That's when my life is in jeopardy because it's you people that are going to take me out. I want my deputies around me because they'll protect me, but you people will not keep me safe.

[00:12:33]All right, we've got more video here and I want you to pay close attention as he starts to talk about his daughter who is such an important part of this case and the mindset of Sheriff Mickey Stein.

[00:12:48]I read your rights a while ago. When >> all this first started happening, Justin Hunaker said, "What'd you do?

[00:12:55]What' you do?" And start asking me questions. So, I want that to be on the note.

[00:12:59]>> Okay. That's just recorders right here.

[00:13:01]Well, anything he said, >> I don't know about y'all's recorders now. Come on now. I just want a fire.

[00:13:05]>> You wanted the recorders on while I go, Mickey.

[00:13:09]>> So, hey, Mickey.

[00:13:10]>> These are killing me. I just want a fire trial, guys. Get me to where >> Well, tell me here wherever. Tell them.

[00:13:17]Tell us what happened today.

[00:13:20]>> What? What?

[00:13:21]>> Me?

[00:13:21]>> I We don't know. I just got here. I just know that Judge Moses was shot.

[00:13:26]>> So, tell us what happened.

[00:13:34]What led to that?

[00:13:43]Do you want to talk at all, Mickey?

[00:13:47]Earlier you said you wanted to talk about it. Listen Mickey if you don't want to talk that's fine. I ain't I ain't going to force you to. Okay. We didn't we're not going to force you. If you don't want to talk you that's your right. You don't have to. I ra you your rights a while ago. And you know that you're the sheriff. I mean you know just as much as we do. But but it's up to you.

[00:14:06]>> If I can see my daughter in person here >> before you leave.

[00:14:11]Is that what you want?

[00:14:12]>> At the jail.

[00:14:13]>> At the jail.

[00:14:14]>> Yep. at the jail through a screen on the phone. I want to see my daughter in person and then after that I'll tell you everything at that in front of cameras video recording.

[00:14:26]>> Where's Where's your daughter at?

[00:14:30]>> Huh?

[00:14:31]>> How do we Where's your How do we track her down? Where's she at?

[00:14:34]>> She's at LCC earlier.

[00:14:37]>> She was at LCC. I talked to her. So now, Mickey, I want to I want to kind of for your daughter, let's talk about this.

[00:14:46]For your daughter, okay, if she finds out that her dad is being arrested for shooting the judge and she's in she's in high school. I didn't know how old she was, so I didn't know. So, she's in high school. What is she, a senior? That's going to be hard.

[00:15:00]>> She she will want to see me. She will want Now, come on, guys. Be fair to me now.

[00:15:05]>> I am being I am being fair. That's the only thing I just wanted you to think about that. How >> is she 18?

[00:15:11]>> Be be fire to me now, guys.

[00:15:13]>> Well, hold on. Is she 18?

[00:15:14]>> Be fair to me now.

[00:15:15]>> No, I'm asking you.

[00:15:17]>> I want to see my daughter in person.

[00:15:18]>> Is she 18?

[00:15:19]>> I want to see my daughter in person. You got a kid?

[00:15:22]>> Cuz if she >> I have a kid. I've got grandkids.

[00:15:24]>> I got five grandkids.

[00:15:26]>> Yeah.

[00:15:26]>> Five grandkids.

[00:15:27]>> Listen. Listen to you. But >> I just want to see my daughter.

[00:15:30]>> If she's not 18, we're going to ask your wife. We have to ask your wife if it's okay. You know that. Is she 18?

[00:15:36]Christine and Lana both said they were both on their way here. Okay, >> they were in here. There was all kinds of people in here just running around chaotic. So, >> okay, >> how am I going to tell you what happened?

[00:15:49]>> Hold it right there for a second >> to the >> This is the case. This is the why of it, right? Trying to understand why the sheriff would do this. So, here you you you getting inside of his his thought process. It's the fear that his daughter is in danger and he's not going to do anything. He's negotiating right now. He's negotiating uh with the officers who want to know what happened here, Vicki, what happened? Why did you do this?

[00:16:22]And his only concern, his focus is his daughter. And what you have to remember is that just before the shooting, what does he do? He calls his daughter from his own phone and then uses the sheriff's phone to call his daughter.

[00:16:41]So the same thing that is manifesting itself in his mind at this moment was also happening just prior to the shooting. All goes to his state of mind.

[00:16:53]All goes to whether or not he's potentially legally insane, unable to distinguish right from wrong.

[00:17:02]to appreciate the wrongfulness of what he's doing or or or not understanding the reality of what's going on here. If he feels like his family's in danger and he needs to act out, that becomes his defense.

[00:17:16]And all of that is playing out here in real time. The jury will see this. The experts will be able to analyze all of this. You rarely get this video just after the shooting. Plus, we've got video just before the shooting. Let's go back >> to the judge.

[00:17:34]>> Yeah. You know, Christine was on. I said, "My wife and daughter's on their way."

[00:17:39]>> Mhm. I know. You just said, "How are you going to tell us what happened?

[00:17:42]Everybody's running around." Chaotic.

[00:17:44]>> It was. I just want to see my daughter.

[00:17:49]>> Is she 18? How old is she? If your wife's out there with her, if she ain't 18, we can ask if that's okay. But if she's 18, we just ask your daughter. So that's what I'm getting at. If she's not 18, we have to ask your wife.

[00:18:06]Do you think they're outside?

[00:18:08]>> Sean and Christine said they was on their way.

[00:18:12]Let me talk to them, too. You want to go ask them about it?

[00:18:16]>> Yeah.

[00:18:18]>> Hit that button right there. Let me >> This is recording. His is recording.

[00:18:22]>> Come on now. Be fair to me now. Mickey, we're not being unfair to you.

[00:18:27]>> You want a drink of water?

[00:18:28]>> Yeah. Now, be fair to me, guys. Y'all going to kill me.

[00:18:32]>> Mickey, >> Mickey, we have never had one bad word to each other. Never.

[00:18:38]>> Going to kill me.

[00:18:39]>> Never in our lives.

[00:18:40]>> You know you are.

[00:18:42]>> Why are you?

[00:18:45]>> It's It's sad. It's It's sad and it's tragic. And obviously sad for Mickey Stein, but how about Judge Kevin Mullins who as a result of whatever's going on here with the sheriff, his life was ended inside his chambers completely unexpected.

[00:19:02]So as as you think about as they get ready to do a trial in this case and and try to piece together a defense in a case where everything is captured on video, right? You you think, okay, the actual murder is caught on video.

[00:19:16]There's no audio. There's only video of the shooting. So, you don't hear what is said.

[00:19:23]You only see what is done. The way the sheriff hunts down the judge, shoots him. He's on his way out of the out of the chambers and he realizes that the judge is still alive. So, he goes back and and unloads the weapon even more, making sure that Kevin Mullins is there.

[00:19:41]But how does that connect to his fear of his daughter? It all comes back to that civil lawsuit and something terrible was happening in Lecher County, Kentucky.

[00:19:56]Women being extorted for sex, a huge scandal. The sheriff seemingly knows a lot about what's going on. And it seems his fear may be ground in some sense of reality while at the same time taking it to the next level of okay, he's no longer he's got a break from reality. Yeah. Everyone's concerned about this civil lawsuit, but then the break from reality is I can protect my daughter whose life is in danger because of this scandal. They're going to go after her because of what I know.

[00:20:35]So, I've got to take out Judge Kevin Mullins to save my daughter. Like, that doesn't make any sense.

[00:20:43]And if it doesn't make sense, it's because it's in the mind of someone who is mentally ill. And the question is, is he legally insane?

[00:20:56]I want to show you some video of the sheriff appearing at his prelim. Okay, this is the preliminary hearing. So, this is sometime after the shooting, right? We're going now to October 1st of 2024.

[00:21:10]So, let's take a look at the video to see what he looks like at this point.

[00:21:14]Does he look like the same guy? And as I look at him, this is not normal. This still is not normal.

[00:21:26]Now, mental illness does not equal legal insanity. You can be mentally ill and be held culpable for your crimes. Okay, there are two different things. Mental illness is a medical condition. Legal insanity is a legal standard inside of a courtroom.

[00:21:43]But a juryy's going to notice it.

[00:21:45]They're going to notice what the defendant looks like, how he acts. And sometimes how they act in a courtroom has as much impact on the jury as how they acted the day of the shooting.

[00:21:58]This juryy's going to get to to compare both because they'll get to see him moments afterwards. They will see him, not necessarily hear him, but see him before the shooting as well, his mannerisms because of all those cameras inside of the courtroom, inside the courthouse and the judge's chambers. But you look at him here, like what is going on behind his eyes here?

[00:22:23]What is he thinking?

[00:22:25]Does he understand that he shot and killed a man in cold blood? a judge that he has forever changed the trajectory of his life. Going from a a very popular local sheriff to someone now who is known as the sheriff who shot the judge.

[00:22:47]But then you get to the reason and and you get to the backstory and that's where all of this may change to a certain extent.

[00:22:57]Like if you you you think about what drove him to do this is what this case is all about. It's not a who done it.

[00:23:06]It's not a what happened. It's why why Mickey Stein would you do that? You've got a wife. You've got a daughter.

[00:23:16]You've got a family. You've got people who care about you. You've got this civil lawsuit. Yes. But apparently you had not been accused of yourself extorting these women for sex.

[00:23:28]You're just the sheriff. So of course you're going to be named in the lawsuit.

[00:23:33]But it seems like he has a fear of the people in the community. And I've spoken to a bunch of them and you start talking to the locals, potential jury pool, by the way. You talk to the locals and they're like, you know, there's a reason for this fear.

[00:23:54]Like regular folks refer to the people, you know, the lawyers, the judges, the the people uh, you know, in politics as the higherups, right? The higherups. And and the people I've spoken to believe that the level of corruption is so deep that perhaps the sheriff did have a reason to fear for the safety of his family because of what he knew and what he could reveal during the course of this civil lawsuit.

[00:24:26]So, it's it's a very unique defense that we're going to see here, which is legal insanity grounded in actual fact or alleged fact by the defense.

[00:24:40]So, all that corruption will become part of the defense. Let's listen now to Clayton Stamper, who's a detective who testified in the preliminary hearing again about what Mickey was saying.

[00:24:57]was in custody when I arrived at the courthouse that afternoon. He was uh calm. He was uh kind of afraid that uh all basically all he said was treat me fair. That's that's basically the comments he made. I wasn't present, but when he uh when he was taken into custody, I was told by one of the other officers that were there that he made the comment, "They're trying to kidnap my wife and kid."

[00:25:27]>> They they're trying to kidnap my wife and kid. Again, that fear that fear made him do what he did is what they're going to have to argue. And I still haven't seen the exact connection between the death of the judge and saving his family, but we're inside the mind of someone who's suffering potentially from mental illness, so it won't necessarily make sense to you and I. Let's listen to more from this detective because um this is another really important part of what happened inside the chambers.

[00:26:11]And can you describe for us what happened immediately prior to the clip that we saw?

[00:26:18]>> Uh, Sheriff Stein is uses his telephone to make some phone calls. He then borrows Judge Mullen's cell phone and appears to make a call on that and that led to what you just saw. There is a point when Sheriff Stein asked for um to see the telephone of Judge Mins.

[00:26:46]>> Yes.

[00:26:47]>> Are you aware of any recent content that was up and could have been relevant at the time of their discussion?

[00:26:56]Uh I was told that uh Sheriff Stein had tried to call his daughter and he had tried to call his daughter from the judge's phone also.

[00:27:06]>> Have officers confirmed that the sheriff's daughter's phone number was on Judge Mullins's phone?

[00:27:17]>> Yes, I believe so. Yes.

[00:27:19]>> So that number had been called from Judge Mullen's phone. Is that correct?

[00:27:22]>> Yes.

[00:27:24]>> Okay.

[00:27:26]That moment in the courtroom led to lots of rumors in Eastern Kentucky that there was something going on between the judge and the sheriff's daughter. And that was the genesis of of this conflict between these two. That was the motivation for the sheriff to kill Judge Kevin Mullins.

[00:27:45]But I don't think that's the case. I think what they're referring to there, which came out not 100% the way you'd want it to come out, is that the sheriff had actually dialed his daughter from the phone, and that's why the daughter's number was in the judge's cell phone, not that there was an ongoing relationship between Judge Kevin Mullins and the sheriff's daughter.

[00:28:07]There are a lot of shocking parts of this story. This might be the most shocking. I'm going to show you an interview I did with a woman named Tia Adams, who is a woman who's been battling drug issues throughout her life. She met Judge Kevin Mullins, according to her, at age 16 in drug court and continued to have interaction through the years, including um family court and and custody of her children.

[00:28:32]So, she has a long history, she says, with the judge. She makes a lot of accusations in this interview, none of which have been confirmed by me or anyone else. So, I'm I'm not showing you this to try to say this is what Judge Kevin Mullins was doing. I'm giving you the backdrop for what may have been going on in Sheriff Mickey Stein's mind and been part of the fuel for all of this corruption or alleged corruption in Lecher County, Kentucky that put him in fear that perhaps his family was in danger because of how deep all of this went. Again, these allegations will be shocking. None of them have been confirmed by Court TV or anyone else that I know of. But let's listen to Tia Adams in the interview I did.

[00:29:24]>> I had a position at the Commonwealth Attorney's Office. My sister worked for him for Edison Banks and uh Mr. Mullins was the assistant Commonwealth attorney at the time and um I had went over to his office to learn how to take a deposition. the first encounter that I had with him. Like I said, I was underage. It wasn't really a formal job.

[00:29:47]It was kind of like just informal training for me and office management filing.

[00:29:54]That first time that I was alone with him. Yeah. The first time I was alone with him was the first time that he was inappropriate with me. and he had me give him oral and he paid me for it and he told me to clean myself up and not to tell anybody. He threw money in my face, said, "Clean yourself up." I was 16. It just escalated from there. Um, it went to having sex parties and getting high with them, doing performances with other women, having they would have other men have sex with us on watch. Um, and that continued up until I started going to jail and stuff and they sent me off to rehab at the age of 20 after my mom died. He just started introducing me to his friends and like it was just made very clear that like that's where my value was. Um, my dreams and plans and stuff didn't matter.

[00:30:50]He paid for it. Yeah. throughout up until I started getting in trouble and then it became about my court cases and that would be his and it wasn't just him. There was other attorneys involved and the county attorney Harold Bowling the one that was over my child support um the case that I am on parole on until 2099. Um he was really bad with me too.

[00:31:13]Um I had a lot of really negative experiences with a lot of people from that courthouse. The sex part of it that is really the least of the problems here in Lecher County. It's the way they abuse their power and the things that they do to men and women alike and families and innocent children just to keep their secrets. The higherups of Lecher County. Um it's the other attorneys, the people who work in the jail. It's the whole system courthouse basement to roof pretty much and surround the building surrounding too. There's a lot of like other attorneys and even some like doctors and stuff in town that are involved in in these parties that they would have and in the various things to different degrees. They don't discriminate who their victims are.

[00:32:11]If you weren't into it, then they get you whenever they get you for something minor and pull you into it. Or CPS, they'll use CPS to remove your children and then use your kids to u to make you do what they want you to do. They use the ARC program as well. Um and they have people that would like come out and get people to relapse. Like this is all documented. It's already proven um that they were do they've been doing this for a long time um to set people up and get them back in trouble with their probation and parole and stuff. And then we just recently found out that they've been extending people's parole sentences. Even after your time is served out, they're extending your parole indefinitely. And um drug court is a sentence in and of itself. And whenever I finished my prison time, I made parole and got out, my re-entry papers from the prison said one thing.

[00:33:05]And then whenever I got to the parole office, my re-entry papers said that I was ordered to do drug court by Judge Jimmy Craft and um he's the head of the drug court program. Um and I didn't end up having to do it. They made me do the aftercare program and I did all the other classes, the MRT, the substance abuse, the co-occurring disorders, the parenting classes. I did them all. And anger management. Um and I served my sentence down to day zero. And I was I've never been proud of any more proud of anything in my life than accomplishing that with no problems, no failed drug tests, no missed appointments. Um, and I went to go get my graduation, my my gold seal, the certificate showing that I was complete and I was free. And they said no, that they weren't going to release me. And then turns out it's until 2099.

[00:33:58]And there are other people, many other people that are being held on the exact same thing who have served their sentences out, too.

[00:34:04]>> Was Sheriff Mickey Stein's involved in any of this?

[00:34:10]>> I don't know. I know that he was never inappropriate with me sexually. He was always just professional with me. Like, he was firm and he's taken me to jail before and stuff, but he's never crossed that line. So, I don't know like what else he might have been involved in, if anything, but not with me or anybody that I'm close friends with.

[00:34:30]>> Any way that the sheriff of Lecher County wouldn't know about what you've told us about these these sex parties and and other things that are going on.

[00:34:42]>> No, there's no there's no way he didn't know. Everybody knows.

[00:34:47]>> Everybody knows. It's it's it's common knowledge out there.

[00:34:53]There are hundreds of victims.

[00:34:55]That's not an exaggeration.

[00:34:57]>> Hold it there for one second.

[00:34:58]>> Let Let me ask you this. I want >> The reason this is so significant, two ways that this helps Sheriff Mickey Stein. One, if it's actually true that all this corruption exists and the judge was actually involved with it, that may make its way into the courtroom in front of the jury. less sympathetic uh victim, a more sympathetic defendant.

[00:35:24]On the other hand, if the jur even if it's not true, but the jurors of Lecher County, if this case stays in Lecher County, if the jurors of Lecher County or anywhere else in Kentucky believes that it is possible that this corruption was actually happening, it would have the same impact.

[00:35:43]It would make the victim much less of a victim of all of this. You're kind of like turning the whole thing on its head. Let's listen to more. This I want to get back to the judge for a second.

[00:35:57]At any point were you with the judge when he was a judge. You you told us the story when you were a teenager and he was uh Yeah. one of the lawyers. How about as a judge?

[00:36:08]>> Yeah.

[00:36:10]Yeah. I've had many court cases that I've had to deal with him in a personal manner to deal with.

[00:36:17]>> And what happened?

[00:36:20]>> Favors for diversion, favors for to pay a fine off, take care of a ticket. I mean, >> when and where would >> various things >> would these favors be paid?

[00:36:36]>> In the chambers somewhere in the courthouse. There's rooms all over the courthouse that I've been taken to over the years. Um, I've met him like at the strip job in Whitesburg, different places.

[00:36:49]>> What What was your reaction? What went through your mind when you heard that the sheriff had shot and killed the judge?

[00:36:58]>> That finally somebody has to look and see what they're doing here. They can't look away anymore. We have a chance to get help.

[00:37:05]>> What are your thoughts about the sheriff?

[00:37:09]He's my hero. I mean, I'm sure that he's not a perfect man. Nobody is. But he's my hero regardless.

[00:37:19]>> If anyone in that jury box feels the same way she does, that's good news for Sheriff Mickey Stein.

[00:37:28]So, I had an opportunity to speak with Mickey Stein's attorney, Jeremy Bartley.

[00:37:32]great attorney, works with his wife actually in their in their practice, and he gave me some incredible insight into what was going on with Mickey Stein and what the defense will be in this case.

[00:37:44]Let's take a look.

[00:37:48]>> It's extremely complicated. Look, this is not a simple case. This is not a case that uh is only told by the what 7 to 10 seconds that was shown at the preliminary hearing. The story is one that's told over a um a several year period. And most especially and specifically, it is told over the uh the weeks prior to uh that ultimate moment that you see there on the video. The first thing he said to the investigators was, "I'm concerned that they they were going to take or have taken my wife and daughter. Um, we believe that um that Mickey believes strongly that his wife and daughter and family were in imminent danger. Now, um, we believe at the same time that the pressure and anxiety and other factors that I'm not going to discuss tonight. We'll leave that for another day. But we believe that his mental health had been impaired um and certainly was accelerated due to this civil deposition.

[00:39:00]Enough witnesses had interacted with him and heard him convey the fact that he was uh afraid that others were going to cause him or his family harm. So you basically have three options. one uh there was no objective threat and this is all a complete um uh fabrication within his own mind that it's completely subjective. The threat is completely within his own mind. And then the second uh possibility is that there was someone around the corner and um he was only perceiving an actual and objective threat.

[00:39:38]So under the first scenario then I think we uh are certainly being prudent in exploring his mental health and under the second scenario then there certainly is a uh um you know another element of the case but I think there's a third option and according to uh our investigation what we've seen I expect it'll be that the truth is a combination of both. I believe there was an objective threat uh to his family. Uh but I believe that his mental health um was impaired to a degree that impacted his ability to perceive immediacy and um you know the imminent threat of that uh the imminent nature of that threat Vinnie um as well as the magnitude. So I I think that certainly uh the third option according to what I have seen is the most likely um facts that you'll see at trial. Well, I think if you um take a look at what the witnesses in the uh specifically one witness that was with um Mickey after the lunch, but prior to the video that you're showing currently, um he was describing his fear that someone was going to cause him or his family harm. And it appeared to this witness at first he he thought that um that Mickey was joking um and then he describes the fact that when he looked him in the eye he realized that this was a very real threat to Mickey. he believed that this threat was there and um according to the evidence that they uh discussed at the preliminary hearing, he had he had attempted to contact his daughter and hadn't been able to get a hold of her. We believed he continued to attempt to get a hold of his daughter and uh was unsuccessful.

[00:41:41]Genuine fear, that word stuck out to me that this that there's there's a combination here. not just all going on inside of his head. There's a real reason for him to have fear because of all of this corruption that was taking place in Lecher County. Now, I've got more of this interview. Pay close intent attention here because the first question I ask him in this part to me gets to the crux of of Mickey Stein's state of mind. Take a look.

[00:42:18]Well, we believe that there are a um a number of people who were very interested in the outcome of the civil deposition. Uh we believe there are several people who were concerned about what might be revealed in those depositions. You know, and I really want to take a step back. The very fact that we even have a video within a judge's chambers that's running a live feed, that's completely unheard of. So, the fact that we even have video cameras in this chamber signals the past problems that have been ongoing. And so I think that this is not limited to one person, but um I I believe that that there are uh multiple people that were concerned about the outcome of the uh of the deposition. And even more importantly, Vinnie um Mickey believed that there were multiple people that were concerned about what he might say at the deposition. The deposition that um Mr. uh uh that Mickey was giving in that particular case was scheduled for Monday and this happened on a Thursday. So, uh just a few days prior was this deposition. And I think in the week prior to and the week of the deposition, um lots of people noticed the um that Mickey had become more increasingly uh paranoid that he became uh sleepless, had gone nights without sleep. Um, and there was an overwhelming amount of pressure on him, some internal, but we believe there were external pressures as well because there were a lot of things that happened within these chambers that during a uh deposition could be potentially fair game for questions. and not only at that deposition but if the civil case continued then in further discovery in that case and I think there was a lot of interest by um those people who populated the judges chambers um for whatever reason about what Mickey might say in those depositions and I think that that is certainly going to be a um focal point of this trial that external pressure that is bringing all the dirt, all the corruption from Lecher County and bringing it into the courtroom and playing it out in front of the jury to make the case. Not so much about what Mickey Stein did in those 7 to 10 seconds, but everything else that was happening in Lecher County, in the courthouse, and in the judge's chambers leading up to that moment. This trial is going to be extremely fascinating and unpredictable.

[00:45:19]And obviously, we'll stay on top of it.

[00:45:21]I'm Vinnie Palletan. Thank you so much for watching. We'll see you next time.

[00:45:25]And please, please don't forget to hug the kids.