Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly said the day he was arrested on suspicion of murder, men came toward his home with AK-47s aimed at him.
“He turned to me…pointed the AK at me. And at that moment, everyone says it was the stupidest thing I ever did, but he shot you.” They said you should have shot him because he was preparing,” Kelly said. told NewsNation.
Instead, he told the press, “I shot three people in the head and thanked God that he and the other players escaped.”
Later that day, on January 30, 2023, he discovered the body and called the sheriff’s department. Responding officers accused Kelly of shooting the victim, an illegal immigrant, and took him away in handcuffs.
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FILE – George Alan Kelly appears for a preliminary hearing on February 22, 2023 in Nogales Justice Court in Nogales, Arizona. An Arizona rancher goes on trial Friday, March 22, 2024, for the shooting death of an immigrant on his property. Near the border with Mexico. (Mark Henle/Arizona Republic via Associated Press, Pool, File)
His alleged murder made national news as the controversial debate over border security raged across the country, particularly in states bordering Mexico.
“They accused me of shooting him,” Kelly told NewsNation in his first interview since becoming a free man. “I said, ‘No, I didn’t shoot him.’ And they said, ‘Well, we think you did, and we’re charging you with first-degree murder. I’ll arrest you.”
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The 75-year-old man spent 22 days in prison and said it was the worst experience of his life. “If hell is like that, I’m going to do everything in my power not to go,” Kelly said.
The rancher’s attorney said seven jurors wanted to acquit Kelly, but one “lone holdout” voted to convict the elderly rancher despite evidence and testimony. It was his unwavering desire to do so.
A judge declared the case a mistrial in April, but prosecutors said they would not retry the case.
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)
The victim was identified as Gabriel Quyen-Boutimere, and prosecutors claimed he was unarmed.
But Kelly’s defense team said prosecutors could not prove that Quyen-Buitimare was shot by Kelly’s gun. The defense said forensics and ballistics did not match Kelly’s gun.
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The fatal bullet was never recovered from the scene.
“I don’t feel like I was treated fairly in the investigation,” Kelly said in an interview with NewsNation. “I think I was arrested without cause and without just cause.”
Judge Thomas Fink (right) leaves the courtroom during the trial of rancher George Kelly. (Fox News)
Watch the judge leave:
Kelly said he feared for the safety of his wife and himself. They were sitting on the patio when
The rancher’s wife, Wanda Kelly, testified during the trial and said they saw it. Armed men in camouflage uniforms He was walking about 100 feet from his home, carrying a rifle and backpack.
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Dr. Ron Martinelli, a criminologist working pro bono for Kelly’s defense team, accused prosecutors of “extreme confirmation bias.”
“Imagine being in your 70s and on a remote ranch. You and your wife. And you witness frequent armed intrusions on your ranch,” Martinelli said in a previous interview. He said this in an interview with FOX News Digital.
“This is a war. We are trying to fight this war in an ethical, moral and legal way. But we cannot be hindered by a degraded criminal justice and law enforcement system. We cannot allow that to happen in our country.” The United States of America wants to be a free country. ”
Now that the trial is over, Kelly and his wife want to “start their lives over again,” but that will be difficult after the costly trial.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink hears opening arguments in the trial of George Alan Kelly on Friday, March 22, 2024 in Nogales, Arizona. Kelly, a rancher, is on trial for shooting and killing an immigrant on his property near Mexico. . (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International, Associated Press, Pool)
“We don’t have the funds,” Kelly said. “Our life savings are gone.”
Martinelli said Kelly has received about $2 million in personal funds and funding from the legal defense fund of GiveSendGo, an online fundraiser started by the rancher’s wife.
George said it’s enough to keep him afloat for now, but he doesn’t know how long it will last.
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“That cloud is still over my head,” Kelly told NewsNation. “We have a long way to go and we are not out of the woods yet, but we are not giving up. We are not going to let them defeat us.”
