An Arizona rancher went on trial Friday in the fatal shooting of a migrant on his property near Mexico, with his defense attorney maintaining his innocence as the national debate over border security heats up ahead of this year’s presidential election.
George Alan Kelly, 75, has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of a man he encountered on his property outside Nogales, Arizona. The jury trial in Santa Cruz County Superior Court is expected to last up to a month until around April 19, with proceedings held four days a week with Mondays off.
Kelly had earlier rejected a plea deal that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty. His case has garnered the sympathy of some on the political right, with several efforts raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his defense, including several on the GoFundMe platform that were quickly shut down because of the charges against him.
He was arrested and charged last year in the Jan. 30, 2023, fatal shooting of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea of adjacent Nogales, Mexico, just south of the border.
Wasn’t commenting that it was justified, but the ruling will come down to how the interaction happened. Did Kelly say please leave, did he open fire, did the migrants refuse and began approaching him? Was this at close range, far range? All these details are missing.
The details are in the article. The article this comment thread is attached to. You could read it and get answers to some of your “just asking questions.”
Instead, you keep making up excuses for why it would be okay for him to open fire on a group of unarmed men. Men that were over 100ft away at the time, walking off his property.
I think we all know why.
Sorry your correct, I hadn’t previously seen the rest of the article because the read more button was dizzyingly hidden between ads.
He is claiming self defense and fearing for his life. Will be a tough case.