Arizona Rancher’s Murder Trial Ends In Hung Jury
The murder trial of George Alan Kelly, a 75-year-old Arizona rancher accused of fatally shooting Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, an illegal immigrant who trespassed on his property, concluded on Monday as the judge declared a mistrial. The jury reported after days of deliberations that they were hopelessly deadlocked. Reports indicated only one juror wanted to vote to convict the rancher. Cuen-Buitimea died on Kelly’s 170-acre cattle ranch near the US-Mexico border, allegedly from a bullet fired into the air by Kelly.
The state charged the rancher with second-degree murder and aggravated assault. Prosecutors argued to the jury that Kelly acted recklessly by firing nine shots from his rifle, with one of the shots allegedly leading to the death of Cuen-Buitimea — who had been deported from the U.S. multiple times. Investigators were unable to recover the actual bullet that allegedly killed the decedent.
Throughout the trial, Kelly’s defense showed the shooting was a defensive act. According to Kelly, he only fired warning shots into the air when he perceived a threat from armed individuals on his land. His wife, Wanda Kelly, testified that she saw two men carrying weapons near their home.
BREAKING: Arizona judge declares mistrial in the case of a 75 year-old rancher, George Alan Kelly accused of fatally shooting a migrant.
The Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office can still decide whether to retry Kelly for any charge, or drop the case all together.
He better not… pic.twitter.com/FrGcmS4yku
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) April 23, 2024
Defense attorney Brenna Larkin argued that Kelly was justified in his actions: “He was confronted with a threat right outside his home. He would have been absolutely justified to use deadly force, but he did not.”
The judge overseeing the trial of Arizona rancher, George Alan Kelly, declared a mistrial.
This is Kelly’s lawyer stating there was just ONE juror that thought he was guilty of the 2nd-degree murder charge. pic.twitter.com/XtIYweiiov— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) April 23, 2024
Prosecutor Mike Jette challenged the defense by arguing there was no justification for Kelly’s actions, as the individuals were unarmed and posed no direct threat. “You do not have the right to use deadly force when there is no threat to home or yard,” Jette argued.
https://youtu.be/SPLvS0oXAlc?si=ws7ebIRvWVjwks6E
Larkin argued to jurors in her summation: “The law does not say that you cannot use lesser force to defend yourself. The law does not say that when you’re out in the middle of nowhere and you folks were out there. This is not downtown Nogales. This is not a populated area. This is isolated. It is empty. He can fire warning shots to protect himself and to protect his wife. And that’s exactly what he did. That’s exactly what any man who cares about his wife and his home should do in this situation when faced with the threat that he was faced with.”