Prosecutors with the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office announced that George Alan Kelly, the Arizona rancher charged with murder in the shooting death of a Mexican national inside border property, will not be retried.
The state has charged Kelly, 75, with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing immigrant Gabriel Quen Buitimare on his property in January 2023.
The decision not to retry Kelly came a week after the jury deadlocked and a mistrial was declared.
Kelly’s defense attorney confirmed to Fox News Digital that there was “only one” juror who wanted to convict him, while the remaining jurors wanted him to acquit.
Judge acquits Arizona rancher accused of killing Mexican national on border property
George Alan Kelly enters for a preliminary hearing in Nogales Justice Court on February 22, 2023 in Nogales, Arizona. (Mark Henle/Arizona Republic via Associated Press, Pool, File)
The case centered on the death of Quen Buitimare, who was found shot to death on January 30, 2023, on Kelly’s 170-acre cattle ranch near Kino Springs, outside Nogales, Arizona.
“Due to the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding this case, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office has decided not to seek a new trial,” Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hanley told Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink on Monday. he said.
Quyen-Buytimea has entered the country illegally multiple times and was deported in 2016.
Kelly’s defense attorneys argued that Quyen-Buytimea was an unarmed immigrant and disputed prosecutors’ claims that cartel influence tainted the death investigation.
During the trial, prosecutor Mike Jett said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle at a group of men, including Quyen Boutimere, about 100 yards away on the property. Mr Kelly said he fired a warning shot into the air, but he claimed he did not directly shoot anyone.
Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly’s defense attorney “only holdout” juror blocks acquittal, state focuses on second trial
George Alan Kelly, right, leaves the Santa Cruz County Courthouse with defense attorney Kathy Lowthorpe on Friday, March 22, 2024 in Nogales, Arizona. Kelly, a rancher, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of a man he encountered on his way to work. Properties near Mexico. (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International, Associated Press, Pool)
“He’s de-escalating the situation. My wife is fine,” Jett said Thursday. “You have no right to use deadly force to protect someone you didn’t have to protect. You have no right to use deadly force when there is no threat to your home or yard. There is no right to initiate, incite or escalate using force.”
The defense argued that Kelly had only fired warning shots into the air from their patio earlier in the day, and that his wife, Wanda Kelly, was wearing camouflage and carrying a rifle and a backpack. He said he spotted two armed men walking with about 100 people and called the Border Patrol’s contact number at the ranch. It is located a few meters from their house.
The fatal bullet was never recovered from the scene.
Arizona rancher George Alan Kelley’s wife testifies in murder trial about armed groups near border area
George Alan Kelly hears closing arguments Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in Nogales, Arizona. Kelly was charged with second-degree murder in the January 2023 death of 48-year-old Gabriel Quen Bouytimea. He lived south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International, via AP, Pool)
“The long and short of it is, this is not a person simply seeking the American dream. There is no evidence that this person came here with any such benign purpose,” Kelly’s attorney Brenna Larkin said Thursday. stated in his closing argument. “And we bring this up, you know, not to be critical of Gabriel or to have no sympathy for him. But when people get caught up in criminal lifestyles, it’s It’s dangerous. It’s inherently more dangerous than just being an immigrant coming here.” So it’s related to that reason. ”
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Kelly also rejected a deal made by prosecutors earlier this year to reduce the charges to one count. negligent homicide If he agrees to plead guilty.
FOX News’ Daniel Wallace contributed to this report.
