State Declines To Retry Arizona Rancher In Illegal Immigrant Shooting

State Declines To Retry Arizona Rancher In Illegal Immigrant Shooting

By Staff Reporter |

The state declined to retry the case of George Alan Kelly, 75, the rancher charged with the deadly shooting of an illegal immigrant on his property. 

Kelly faced the possibility of a retrial after a deadlocked jury resulted in a declared mistrial last week. As he walked out of the Superior Court building, Kelly said that he had faith God would protect him from those upset over the prosecutors’ decision.

“The nightmare’s over,” said Kelly. “God’ll look after me, like he always has.” 

A small group of protestors awaited Kelly’s exit from the courthouse on Monday. A few shouted after Kelly as he walked away. Some of the protestors’ signs likened the shooting to a hate crime. 

That illegal immigrant, Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, was found dead by Kelly last January after the rancher had allegedly fired warning shots above Cuen-Buitimea and the other illegal immigrants he was trespassing with on the property. 

Accounts of Cuen-Buitimea crew differ, depending on who gave testimony. Authorities characterized the group as illegal immigrants evading Border Patrol during a typical illegal crossing. Kelly claimed the group’s presence was marked by a gunshot, and that the men were camouflaged and carrying assault rifles, one of which Kelly said was pointed at him. 

Cuen-Buitimea had been deported for illegal entry into the U.S. at least three times from 2011 to 2016. According to a friend’s account to The New York Times, Cuen-Buitimea lived with his two adult daughters in Nogales. The pair met with the Mexican Consulate in Nogales and prosecutors after the declared mistrial last week. 

One of Cuen-Buitimea’s travel companions, Daniel Ramirez, later served as the key witness against Kelly; Ramirez was imprisoned for drug smuggling nearly 10 years ago, though he falsely told the court that he had no prior drug-related convictions. 

Ramirez’s testimony was later scrutinized for alleged editorialization and coaching by prosecution. 

Santa Cruz County Attorney George Silva released the following statement after their decision to not retry Kelly:

“Because of the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding State vs. George Alan Kelly, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office has decided not to seek a retrial in this matter. However, our Office’s decision in this case should not be construed as a position on future cases of this type. Our office is mandated by statute to prosecute criminal acts, and we take that statutory mandate seriously. We will review all the facts of each case as they are presented to our office, and we will continue to prosecute all criminal acts that occur within our jurisdiction when a factual and legal basis exists for prosecution. Nothing follows.”

Following a similar statement from the county attorney’s office in court on Monday, Judge Thomas Fink said the court would schedule a hearing to determine whether to dismiss Kelly’s case with or without prejudice. 

The Arizona Superior Court declared a mistrial last week after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Seven wanted to find Kelly not guilty, but one wanted to sentence him on the charge of second-degree murder.

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Mistrial Declared In Case Of Arizona Rancher Charged For Shooting Illegal Immigrant

Mistrial Declared In Case Of Arizona Rancher Charged For Shooting Illegal Immigrant

By Staff Reporter |

On Monday, the Arizona Superior Court declared a mistrial in the case of George Alan Kelly, 75, the rancher who shot and killed an illegal immigrant trespassing his property.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict in Kelly’s case (CR-23-0026). Judge Thomas Fink scheduled a status reading for next Monday, April 29, to allow the state to determine whether it would request a retrial. 

Fink read aloud a note from the jurors insisting that further deliberations wouldn’t resolve their deadlock.

The Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office initially charged Kelly with first-degree murder for killing an illegal immigrant, 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, trespassing Kelly’s property in Nogales last January. Cuen-Buitimea had previously been convicted and deported several times. The attorney’s office later lowered the charge to second-degree murder.

According to court documents, discovery of Cuen-Buitimea’s remains occurred after Kelly had called law enforcement twice: once in the early afternoon to report illegal immigrants possibly firing shots on his property, and once that evening to report the discovery of Cuen-Buitimea’s remains. Cuen-Buitimea was found unarmed. 

Kelly’s co-counsel, Kathy Lowthorp, told NewsNation post-verdict that the jury was 7-1 for a “not guilty” verdict. Only one juror believed that Kelly was guilty of second-degree murder. Their defense team unsuccessfully fought the mistrial ruling and supported extending jury deliberation. The prosecution supported the declaration of a mistrial.

The jurors opted to maintain their deadlock over a unanimous decision on either reckless manslaughter or negligent homicide, which Fink suggested.

The Arizona Superior Court posted all videos of the 18-day trial to their YouTube page; they have also posted relevant case documents to their website, which includes the minute entries outlining the main events in the trial. The trial began exactly a month ago. 

During court proceedings, Kelly’s other co-counsel, Brenna Larkin, testified that Cuen-Buitimea was one among a group of five men trespassing his land with large backpacks and rifles. Larkin clarified that Kelly shot in the sky above the men to ward them off after hearing a shot fired, ostensibly by the group of men. 

Larkin stated in closing arguments that Cuen-Buitimea posed a very real threat to Kelly and his wife. 

“Long story short, this is simply not somebody who’s looking for the American dream,” said Larkin. “There’s no evidence that this person is here for those kinds of benign purposes.”

The prosecution’s key witness against Kelly — Daniel Ramirez, another in the group that trespassed Kelly’s land on that fateful day — has falsely told the court he had no prior drug-related convictions, though he was previously convicted of drug smuggling nearly a decade ago. 

Kelly’s counsel further claimed that the prosecution had coached, editorialized, and mistranslated Ramirez’s testimony. 

“It is particularly disturbing that the State either failed to review the witness’s criminal history prior to putting him on the stand, or the State concealed the witness’s criminal history,” stated Kelly’s counsel. 

AP News reported that Nogales’ consul general of the Mexican consulate, Marcos Moreno Baez, waited with Cuen-Buitimea’s daughters on Monday after the verdict to meet with prosecutors.

AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.