After a trial that ended with a deadlocked jury, prosecutors in Arizona announced that they will not retry rancher George Alan Kelly for the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property. The jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a verdict after more than two days of deliberation, leading to a mistrial declared by Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink. Following the mistrial, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office had the option to retry Kelly or drop the case. Ultimately, they decided not to seek a retrial, and Fink agreed to dismiss the case. A hearing would later determine if the case could be dismissed with prejudice, preventing it from being brought back to court.
Kelly’s defense attorney, Brenna Larkin, indicated that she would file a request for the case to be dismissed with prejudice. Outside the courthouse, Kelly expressed relief and stated that the nightmare was over. He also extended his sincere sympathy to the victim’s family. Protesters in support of the victim, Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, gathered outside the courthouse, highlighting the human aspect of the case. Signs carried by the protesters emphasized that someone walking 100 yards away is not a threat and called for a retrial. Kelly, who is 75 years old, had been on trial for nearly a month in Nogales, a city on the border with Mexico, on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Cuen-Buitimea.
Cuen-Buitimea, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, was part of a group of men that Kelly encountered on his cattle ranch. Prosecutors alleged that Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle towards the group, including Cuen-Buitimea, who was 100 yards away. Kelly maintained that he fired warning shots in the air and did not shoot directly at anyone. The trial occurred during a presidential election year that had heightened interest in border security, with court officials taking jurors to Kelly’s ranch and a section of the U.S.-Mexico border. Before the trial, Kelly had rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty. He was also accused of aggravated assault of another person in the group.
The two adult daughters of Cuen-Buitimea, accompanied by Mexican consular officials, met with prosecutors to understand the implications of the mistrial. The Mexican Consulate in Nogales, Arizona, stated that they would release a statement later. The case has raised questions about the use of force on the border and the rights of individuals coming into contact with property owners. With the decision not to retry Kelly, the legal proceedings in this case have come to a close, but the impact on the families and communities involved may continue to reverberate. The circumstances surrounding the shooting and the subsequent trial have brought attention to issues of border security and the complexities of interactions between individuals on both sides of the border.
