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Judge Makes HUGE Decison In Case Of Arizona Rancher Accused Of Killing Illegal Immigrant On His Property


An Arizona jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of 75-year-old Arizona rancher George Kelly, who was accused of second-degree murder in the death of an illegal immigrant that was found on his 170-acre cattle ranch.

Arizona Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial because the jury could not reach a verdict.

Prosecutors accused Kelly of firing shots from a distance from his porch on his ranch in Nogales, Arizona, which is located near the US-Mexico border.

The prosecutors claimed one of the shots Kelly fired was aimed at the illegal immigrants, resulting in the death of Mexican national Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea.

Attorneys for Kelly argued he fired shots in the air to scare the illegal immigrants off but never aimed his firearm at anyone.

The fatal bullet that killed Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea was never recovered.

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Here’s what Fox News reported:

A jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, who was accused of second-degree murder in connection to the death of a Mexican national found fatally shot on his borderland ranch in January 2023.

The jury began deliberating April 18. After days of being unable to reach a verdict, the judge overseeing the trial declared a mistrial on Monday.

The case centered around the death of Mexican national Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, who was found shot to death on Kelly’s 170-acre cattle ranch near Keno Springs outside Nogales, Arizona, on Jan. 30, 2023.

Kelly’s defense has countered the prosecution’s argument that Cuen-Buitimea was an unarmed migrant and has suggested cartel influence mired the death investigation.

“Long story short, this is simply not somebody who’s looking for the American dream. There’s no evidence that this person is here for those kinds of benign purposes,” Kelly’s defense attorney, Brenna Larkin, said during her closing argument on Thursday. “And we bring that up, not, you know, to be judgmental about Gabriel or to not have compassion for him. But when people are involved in a criminal lifestyle, it’s dangerous. It’s more inherently dangerous than simply being a migrant who’s coming here. So it’s relevant for that reason.”

Per The Post Millennial:

The trial for an Arizona cattle rancher who faced murder charges after being accused of fatally shooting an illegal immigrant who trespassed on his private property has ended in a mistrial after a hung jury.

The mistrial comes after jurors were sent home over the weekend after failing to come to a verdict on Friday. Deliberations resumed on Monday, but again they failed to reach a verdict.

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George Kelly, 75, was been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault over the killing of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, a 48-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico. He faced a minimum of ten years in prison if he convicted on the murder charge.

The incident occurred on January 30, 2023, court records show.

Kelly was accused of firing nine shots toward a group of illegal immigrants after he spotted them about 100 yards away on his cattle ranch in Nogales near the US-Mexico border, which allegedly killed Cuen-Buitimea, prosecutors said.

Cuen-Buitimea had previously been deported in 2016 after he illegally entered the US on multiple occasions.

Kelly denied firing shots at the group of illegal immigrants and told police that he had fired multiple warning shots into the air but did not aim his firearm at anyone, court documents state.



 

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