69 South
Podcast 69 South is about mystery, true crime, attempting to find the truth in a world full of chaos. We dig deep in to current and past true crime incidents. Reporting what we find to our listeners. We want to become your reliable source for all things relevant, while we live in a society that is truly lost.
69 South
Betrayal Behind the Badge: Justice Undone in Letcher County, KY
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Disclaimer: All defendants are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. All facts are alleged until a conviction!
69 South 69 South 69 South 69 South 69 South. Welcome everyone to Podcast 69 South, where we discuss and discuss true crime, cold cases, current events and hot topics, along with our state of society today. This is your trigger warning. Our podcast content is produced for adult listeners, 18 years of age and older. We discuss situations that may be offensive and triggering to some listeners. Sit back, relax and enjoy. Welcome everybody back to 69 South, where we explore the undercurrents of local stories. I'm your host, chop, and with me always is my beautiful co-host, julie.
Speaker 3:Hi everybody. I hope you're staying warm today, because it's a cold one out there.
Speaker 2:Cold AF.
Speaker 3:Now, today's episode is perfectly titled Behind the Badge. This disturbing case is from Lecter County, Kentucky, involving Sheriff Sean Mickey Stines and Judge Kevin Mullins.
Speaker 2:Before we do that, we have some special shout outs to give to our roadside listeners who came through to show us some love and support our show. Our first shout out goes to kyle stevens. Kyle's been an avid supporter of our show from day one, so thank you, kyle man, and we hope you're doing amazing. He's in recovery.
Speaker 3:We love you, little buddy now also on our shout out list. Today we have buck ahead, wyatt and lincoln and, of course, our favorite group of girls, the Busy Bitches, sheen and Sierra.
Speaker 2:Moderators Buck and Misty, we got Randy B, we got Jackie Jr, we got Joe Lee, we got Lauren and CJ. If I forgot you on this episode, I'll get you next episode. I promise you.
Speaker 3:Now, if you'd like a shout-out on our next episode, go to our support button on the show description to take you to our shout-out page. We love all our Roadside listeners and what a fun way to support the show.
Speaker 2:It's getting hard to keep this studio warm. Y'all, we just ain't bullshitting, but hey, if y'all can't give nothing, we still love you just the same.
Speaker 4:just keep listening, keep liking, keep loving, keep sharing I'm missing good old boys from the good old days when we used to give a damn about being a man. But, lord, those times have changed. Y'all want to bitch and moan. No one wants to do a thing, watch this country fall to pieces and man, it's a hell of a shame, one hell of a shame. The man that he used to farm this land, sweat running down his brow. He did what it takes just to make us safe.
Speaker 2:Boy did he make us proud Everybody. We're going back to September 19th 2024, when Sheriff Steins walked into Judge Mullins' chambers and shot him. This isn't just any crime story, man. It's a narrative of corruption, betrayal and a breakdown trust within a community. Sheriff Sean Mickey Steins well, sean, or Mickey as he's known grew up in Neon, kentucky, later moving to McRoberts.
Speaker 3:He wasn't one of those public figures with a long public record from childhood, but he was known in his community. He worked his way up from being a bailiff under Judge Kevin Mullins to becoming sheriff in 2018.
Speaker 2:Now to describe what a bailiff is. The people who don't know what a bailiff is. It's the sheriff that stands right next to the judge. Basically, he's got the judge's back, so he was.
Speaker 3:He's in the courtroom with the judge.
Speaker 2:He's got his back. If he needs you know the judge to hey go take this dude to jail, or if you see them recent YouTube videos of the dude diving over the judge's chambers and you know the judge's desk and shit. The bailiff would snatch that MFR up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the bailiff is pretty much like the cop in the court at the time.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, but he was there for 10 years, man, so to say the least, they was tight.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they were, I thought, best friends.
Speaker 2:Steins had a reputation for fighting the opioid epidemic in Letcher County. People respected him for trying to clean up the streets. He was reelected in 2022, which speaks to his standing in the community. However, there was a lawsuit about a deputy allegedly offering sexual favors for the leniency which Steins was named in for failing to train the deputy properly. As we all know, the opioid epidemic was pretty fierce as it ran through our neck of the woods, and when I say our neck of the woods, I'm talking about Southern Indiana, west Virginia, tennessee, kentucky. We all know what it was. Man, I got into a little wreck and ended up on some lower tabs and then some Percocets, and then there was 10, 15 years of my life where, honestly, I couldn't feel like I could even operate my daily life without it, man. So thank God for programs that people came up with and fighting this opioid epidemic. So props out to them for that.
Speaker 3:A lot of lives have been saved.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I know mine has Amen. Now, on September 19th 2024, Steins and Mullins had lunch together. There were some interactions where Mullins suggested they meet privately in his chambers. Later that day, an argument escalated to Steins allegedly shooting Mullins multiple times. Steins surrendered at the scene and he was charged with first-degree murder.
Speaker 3:To understand this incident, we need to look at the context. Steins was already under scrutiny for failing to supervise one of his deputies, ben Fields, who was convicted of exchanging sexual favors for leniency towards individuals on probation or home detention. Now the courtroom saw footage where Steins entered Mullins' private chambers, argued with him and then shot him. The motive Steins claimed to be under extreme emotional disturbance. After Mullins' phone, he used his phone to contact his daughter. Steins tried to call his daughter from his phone but she wouldn't answer. Well, he used the judge's and she answered, and that just threw him into it.
Speaker 2:That's weird. That's a weird shit. Everything is speculated. At this point we're going to keep dead on this to try to figure out exactly what went on. And you know it's kind of weird, man I this is weird to say man, but people look so much different with a beard and without a beard. You know what I mean. And if you look at Sheriff Mickey Stein's man without a beard, he looks just like a good old country boy man.
Speaker 2:But I don't know, man, I just I know it's a horrible thing to go in and cold blood and murder a judge. We don't know the facts of the case, but I don't know. There's just a little bitty part of me and please don't hate me for this but I kind of feel bad for the dude. But I won't, you know, know exactly what my feelings are until the truth fully comes out. I just wanted to put that out there.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Indeed, the motive remains all muddied up. Was this just about personal vengeance or was there a deeper connection to the corruption that Steins was accused of overlooking? Social media posts hint at possible darker secrets. Was Steins repeatedly saying that they were trying to kidnap his family, his wife and daughter that he adored? Is it also reported that evening before the murder, mickey Steins had an argument with his wife and had left the home? That is why he was in civilian clothes rather than a uniform that day.
Speaker 3:I never noticed that until I was wondering why he wasn't in a uniform if he was supposed to be working that day.
Speaker 2:A sheriff. Usually he is the sheriff. Folks, Let us make that clear he wasn't a deputy, he was the man. Yeah, and had been for a minute. He was in civilian clothes. That is kind of weird. Thanks for pointing that out.
Speaker 3:Hey, we're fixing to dive into the scandal involving Ben Fields, but we would just like to remind you that we love connecting with all of our listeners and for the latest updates, be sure to follow our Facebook page. Just search for Podcast 69 South and you'll find us. We also have a private Facebook group specifically for our amazing listeners. You can catch us on X and TikTok and YouTube at Podcast 69 South. We are close to reaching enough followers to go live on YouTube, so please subscribe. Now let's get into these gritty details of the bailiff scandal.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about Ben Fields. He was the bailiff that was convicted. His actions in Mullen's chambers were not just morally repugnant but legally criminal.
Speaker 3:Now this scandal paints a grim picture of how justice can be perverted when those meant to uphold it fail it. It raises questions about the oversight, or lack thereof, by Steins and others in positions of power.
Speaker 2:So Ben Fields was criminally charged and he was handed a sentence of seven years, with six and a half of that on probation. Fields was indicted on seven felony counts, one misdemeanor following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Speaker 3:He only got six months of probation for all this shit, seven felonies.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I want to read you guys some of this federal criminal complaint and civil complaint. It's all mixed up together. But it's kind of odd that he was put on house arrest in some of this.
Speaker 3:Seven felonies, I mean I know I, I think up here, like for the lowest felony we have a minimum is a year. So that's, and people, real people that aren't cops, do real jail time.
Speaker 2:Right. You should be held to a higher standard if you're a law enforcement or if you're put in the position of power, or if you're a teacher or One hundred percent.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Defendant Fields was at all times relevant to this complaint, acting as a Letcher County deputy sheriff. Acting as a Letcher County deputy sheriff, deputy Fields is sued in the official capacity on the declaratory relief and damage claims in his individual capacity, as all claims set forth herein. The plaintiff, sabrina we're just not going to release her last name, but she was arrested in Letcher County in Kentucky on April 2021. From April 2021 through June 2, 2021, the plaintiff was incarcerated at the Letcher County Jail. In early June 2021, the plaintiff was released from the Letcher County Jail and placed on home incarceration. Deputy Fields, a deputy sheriff with the Letcher County Sheriff's Department, was assigned to be plaintiff's home incarceration officer. After she was arrested, sabrina had a difficult time finding housing and accommodations in Letcher County.
Speaker 2:Defendant Fields was aware of Sabrina's housing issues as well as her domestic issues. Deputy Fields visited Sabrina in the evening the night she was released from the lecture county jail to bring her cigarettes and to console her. See, that's fucking weird man. So you got a deputy coming to your crib or wherever you're at. Hey, here's some marlboro's girl. Uh, you know what I mean? That's just that's inappropriate from the gate right. That's grooming.
Speaker 3:I mean that's that's what they call fucking right, absolutely, that's grooming.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's what they call fucking grooming. Yes it is. At this time Sabrina notified Deputy Fields that she did not have enough money to pay for her ankle bracelet and she was terrified to return to the county jail, which who ain't? You know what I mean. So Deputy Fields made flirtatious comments about the plaintiff looks and body and he told her that he was confident they could work something out. So you know he was looking her up and down, doing a little sniff what's up, girl?
Speaker 2:Hey what's up girl? Hey man, we can work this out. Baby girl, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3:I am the boss over here. Just bend over that desk right there and I'll help you ride on out.
Speaker 2:That's horrible, but you know. That's what the fuck really happened. You know what I mean. The plaintiff understood these communications to mean that she would receive favorable treatment from Fields if she provided him with sexual favors. Therefore, sabrina and Fields communicated on a regular basis by text messages. In late June 2021, fields asked Sabrina to meet her at the Letcher County Courthouse in the evening after dark. Fields took Sabrina into Judge Mullen's chambers, telling the plaintiff that he wanted her to meet her there because there were no cameras Bullshit. There was cameras, maybe not at this time. I think this is exactly why they have cameras there now, but at this time, fields took Sabrina's ankle monitor and told her that she would not have to pay the associated fees any longer, but could remain on home detention without the bracelet. Between late June and December 2021, defendant Fields met Sabrina at the Letcher County Courthouse in the evening or early morning hours approximately six times.
Speaker 5:Wow.
Speaker 2:During these meetings, defendant Fields' behavior escalated from flirtation comments to forcible kissing, to oral sex, to intercourse with plaintiff, all of which occurred at the Letcher County Courthouse. He had to know. Well, fuck yeah, he had to know. I mean, come on, man, I mean, their first meetings weren't just hey, you look good, let me take that bracelet off. They was fucking from the gate. And I'm sorry, sabrina, man, I know you was doing what you had to do to keep your ass out of jail. I get that shit.
Speaker 3:Yeah, or he was going to put her back in jail 100 if he didn't do what.
Speaker 2:What the fuck he wanted her to do yeah. The plaintiff was coerced and compelled to comply with the defendant Fields advances. Given defendant Fields's position of power, and because she could not afford to pay for the ankle monitor and did not want to return to the Letcher County Jail, Plaintiff did not consent to the sexual abuse. The sexual abuse Now, even though she said okay, let's do this. When you're incarcerated legally, you cannot consent to any fucking thing. No, because that's the law.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she was like her body was extorted into having to do these things Absolutely, and these meetings would typically occur the night before the plaintiff had court appearance. Imagine that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it just wasn't. It just wasn't. She couldn't just say no just for house arrest. It was so much more than that. I mean, if she would say no, he was going to find a way to make her have to go back to jail.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he would call old Judge Mullins and say, hey, she's not complying with her house with shit, put a warrant out for her. She's going back to jail.
Speaker 3:And that's exactly what he did.
Speaker 2:That's fucking rude as hell, really, man. That's some bullshit. Upon information and belief, in late December 2021, certain persons at the Letcher County Courthouse were notified that defendant Fields was having an inappropriate communications and or relations with the plaintiff and were provided text messages evidencing the inappropriate communications and relations. Now, upon information and belief, fields became aware of the information contained in the preceding paragraph. In late December 2021, fields stopped communicating with plaintiffs by text message or otherwise. Otherwise, they're talking about Facebook Messenger, facebook, this and who knows what other.
Speaker 3:Pretty much just in-person contact. Somebody's seen them messages and somebody turned. Who could have seen them messages? I mean Sabrina could have shared them with whoever.
Speaker 2:But I have another theory about that shit. So, detective Fields, or he wasn't detective, I apologize, bailiff, bailiff Fields, deputy Fields, his wife was also basically in control of the woman's side of the jail at Letcher County, imagine that. So that's a really weird situation to be in. So this dude's saying, hey, fuck me in the judge's chambers or your ass is going back to jail. Well, when the women that did refuse went back to jail, they were under his wife's supervision. How fucked up is that.
Speaker 3:Oh, and he probably talked shit about him so that you know she would get a perception of him. You know what he said to her.
Speaker 2:You know what he said to her hey, baby, this bitch was trying to fuck me to pay her fucking house arrest shit. Oh, you know, that's what he said this bitch was trying to get me to do some nasty shit baby.
Speaker 2:I'm going to send her back to jail. You treat her accordingly. Yeah, so she definitely had concerns for her safety because, upon information and belief, defendant Fields' wife is employed as an officer. Where, upon information and belief, defendant, his wife is employed as an officer. Where, upon information and belief, defendant fields was previously employed. Plaintiff has serious concerns for her safety and welfare if she were to be transferred to the ledger county jail. And I don't fucking blame her upon information and belief, there were other women who defendant fields has. Now.
Speaker 3:That's where Mickey Stines comes into this picture believed that the Lecter County Sheriff knew, or should have known, that defendant Fields was sexually abusing females, including the plaintiff in his charge.
Speaker 2:I hate to even think that Mickey Stines knew anything about that. I really do. I want him to be a good guy. Is that bad to say? Please don't hate me for this, listeners, but damn it, man.
Speaker 2:I know he seems like such a good guy you see a picture of Judge Mullins man and I apologize to Judge Mullins' family, but I mean there was an interview with, I believe, one of the plaintiffs to the case, or at least a witness to the shit that was going on in the chambers. I'd like to play that for you, man, so y'all could get a feel of what the that was going on in the chambers.
Speaker 1:I'd like to play that for you man, so y'all could get a feel of what the fuck was going on here. Well, steins had been deposed in Atkins' lawsuit in the days before shooting Mullins. He was the boss after all. Did that play a role? We really don't know. In 2022, investigators with the Kentucky Attorney General's Office interviewed Sabrina Atkins and she claimed to have seen tapes of Judge Mullins having sex with girls for the bill to get out of jail.
Speaker 5:Who was having sex, ben? And just some higher-ups up there. Who the judge? And you saw the video. Yeah, what did you see on the video? I mean I've seen judge Valentine's sex with a girl. Who was the video? I mean I've seen Judge Walens and Sixth was the girl. Who was the girl? I don't know, because I don't know a lot of people from my book. Where was it at? In the Justice Chambers? Is that the same place that you were meeting, ben? Is that how you know? It was the Judge Chambers and this was Judge who Walens, but you don't know who the girl. Was we, but you don't know who the girl was.
Speaker 1:We obtained that audio in a records request from the attorney general's office.
Speaker 2:Now I think by listening to the voice, if you guys have been paying attention to the court case, that was the like, the big bullheaded Marine looking cop that has been in the court case interviewing this Sabrina girl.
Speaker 3:That poor girl was scared to death. Man, oh you can tell.
Speaker 2:She didn't even want to say their names, she was just like higher ups, I mean you're in a small county, like that man, the judges and the sheriffs they run that show. There's nobody that's over them.
Speaker 3:Except the coroner.
Speaker 2:He's the only person that can arrest the sheriff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but you don't fucking corner, ain't going to interview you. He's gonna tag your ass and throw you in a cold box oh god, I would have been scared to death if I was her too, I feel bad for her.
Speaker 2:Man, I mean, you make a couple bad decisions, we've all made some bad decisions, but it got her in some fucked up situations.
Speaker 3:I, I, hope she gets paid, I hope she does too.
Speaker 2:man Fuck him for that.
Speaker 3:I know he's just dirty.
Speaker 2:That's nasty. You look at him, the motherfucker. It looked like he pulled his deputy outfit out of the dirty laundry. No pun intended on the past bullshit. Something about these Kentucky deputies man and dirty laundry man. They go hand in hand. I mean, I know it's different parts of Kentucky, but any fucking way.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So Sabrina Atkins spoke out. She shared her struggle with addiction, her journey to recovery and how these events have left her with PTSD requiring ongoing medical treatment. Atkins was very candid about her experience in court. She told Fields, during sentencing, my nightmares got so bad I had to go on medicine and probably will be for the rest of my life. Did you know that I tried to kill myself twice?
Speaker 3:This case not only highlights the abuse of power, but also points at broader issues within the system. Atkins accused others of complicity, including other sheriff's deputies, and claimed there was harassment and false arrest based on the information provided by Fields. Now, interestingly enough, there were also allegations against a relative of Fields' too, who reportedly used his influence to coerce Atkins, though he has never been charged due to lack of evidence. She even saw him in court continuing this behavior with another woman. Now let's not forget the other alleged victim, Aiden, whose name was Jennifer. She tragically passed away from a drug overdose after the lawsuit was initiated, which just adds another layer to this case. Now, Jennifer's story is a somber reminder of how authority can be misused. She was a part of the lawsuit against Ben Fields, the deputy sheriff, and Mickey Steins, claiming Fields coerced her into sexual acts while she was under home incarceration as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, jennifer was supposed to pay for her monitoring device, but Fields, her monitor, suggested in an alternative payment when she refused to face harassment, including on an arrest on the perplexed that her home wasn't suitable for incarceration. So he was like your fucking house ain't good enough. Blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 3:Because she said no.
Speaker 2:Every fucking excuse he could to try to get some bleep from these girls. Man, it's just, it's sickening, oh your house is not good enough.
Speaker 3:Look, she pushed back and she said no. She pushed back and she said no.
Speaker 2:And he was like oh yeah, bitch, I'm going to make this home confinement so bad on you that you're going to want to fuck me While he's looking up and down with the old sniff. We can work this out. And it didn't stop there. Fields allegedly continued to abuse his power, using threats of jail time to force jennifer into sexual acts. The criminal charges filed against fields were severe rape, tampering with monitoring devices. But after jennifer died of a drug overdose, those charges related to her were dropped.
Speaker 3:That's fucked up yeah, so he didn't get charged for any of it because she died. That's crazy. I just can't. I mean, if she was in a, do they have a deposition of hers that they could use? I mean, just because a victim dies doesn't mean you don't get to go forward with what the charges that you're being accused of. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Her death was a tragedy on multiple levels. Not only did it rob her of her justice, but it also meant that half of the criminal accountability for Fields was lost, which doesn't make any sense to me. How was it lost? But, however, her estate pursued the civil lawsuit, highlighting the negligence of the supervision by Sheriff Steins. Back to Mickey again, man, it's like.
Speaker 2:The civil case against Fields, eastern Kentucky Correctional Services and Mickey Steins is still pending, which might shed some light on the oversight, or lack of thereof, in these positions. I really wonder if Mickey Stines knew about this shit man or how he was involved in it. This is so twisted up. I can't wait to get to the bottom of it.
Speaker 3:I'd like to know what the community down there thinks. I would love to know.
Speaker 2:I would love to know what you guys think. Please hit us up on every social media, share this, man, and if you know somebody or your family went through this shit, please hit us up, man, because we want to know. This case raises serious questions about the training and the supervision and the accountability of those in power within our justice system. It's a stark reminder of how quickly authority can be misused. Beacon of power, man. Let's talk about who had the most power out of all these men. That would have been the judge, kevin Mullins. He too was linked to all this dysfunction. Man. I mean, you got the girl saying that she saw another girl having sex with Judge Mullins in his chambers. I mean, in a judge's chambers, that's a sacred fucking area, man. She's also saying that, literally, she saw Judge Mullins fucking somebody. Who knows what was going on afterwards. It just makes me really, really, really really wonder what Mickey Steins knew. It just kills me. I want to know so bad.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because they were supposed to be best friends, buddies. I mean you'd think that he would have told him something. Now I wonder what the judge's wife has to say about all this. I mean, could you imagine being in her shoes? His wife has to say about all this I mean, could you imagine being in her shoes? Your husband gets killed and then you find out he's been allegedly cheating and banging these chicks in his chambers at the courthouse.
Speaker 2:I'm sure her situation and her position is these—. Innocent, my husband's innocent, yeah, and the drug-doing chicks were all lying to get out of this, get out of that. You know what I mean. The attorney for Atkins, Ned Pillarsdorf, described the situation as Atkins running a brothel out of that courtroom.
Speaker 3:It's a joke, I assume. The community in Whitesburg has been left in complete shock. People knew both Steins and Mullins, which adds to layers of betrayal to this tragedy, and there's a palpable demand for accountability and reform.
Speaker 2:The reaction has been one of anger and a push for transparency. I'm pushing for transparency on this too. Man, it's got me fucked up. I ain't gonna lie. For all of southeastern kentucky it's a wake-up call for the community for scrutinize those in power more closely, ensuring such betrayals don't happen again now stein faces charges of first-degree murder of a public official, with the possibility of facing the death penalty or life in prison.
Speaker 3:This case is not just about legal repercussions, but about the ethical decay within our justice system.
Speaker 2:It's a stark reminder of the need for integrity and accountability at every level of governance. This case should serve as a catalyst for systematic change to prevent future abuses of power. Now, I don't think this is going to end up being a first-degree murder case of a judge, which I think I'm pretty sure Kentucky has the death penalty, and if you kill a judge they could kill your fucking ass.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I just I don't see it being premeditated, man. The dudes were buddies and I don't know why I thought that I heard that they were brother-in-laws. But you did some research and you found out that that's possibly not true. Yeah, it was debunked or whatever. They're in civilian clothes and they want to have a little chit-chat in the chambers, which I'm sure they did a thousand times before in the years that they was bros, you know.
Speaker 3:And then all this is caught on video and you can clearly tell that Mickey Stines is having what looks to be a manic episode to me.
Speaker 2:God bless Judge Mins' family. God bless everybody that has been affected by this corrupt situation, the killing of Judge Mullins. And I just in my opinion, man, I hope it comes out that Mickey Steins was in a real fucked up position in his head and I really don't know, I don't know how to explain how I feel about it, man, I really don't.
Speaker 3:Now this episode of Behind the Badge sheds light on the dark corners of our local governance in Leicester County. It's a story of what happens when trust in the badge is broken happens when trust in the badge is broken Now. Thank you for joining us on this deep dive with 69 South. Until next time, keep questioning and keep seeking the truth.
Speaker 2:Thanks for tuning in. If you love what you've heard, don't forget to download our podcast. Your downloads is what truly matters to help us grow. Streams alone won't do it. You can find us on all your favorite platforms Apple Podcasts, spotify app, amazon Music Podcast Index, youtube, iheartradio Podcast, addict, Podchaser, podcast Cast, deezer, listen Notes Player FM. And I ain't heard a half of these fucking names and whatever.
Speaker 2:And, hey, we hope you had a good time since the last time, but until the next time, we hope you have a wonderful day, a beautiful evening. Whatever, we'll see you next time.
