Conservatives have welcomed the mistrial of Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, accused of fatally shooting a Mexican migrant on his land.
Kelly, 75, was accused of killing Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea last January at his home in Nogales, near the Mexican border.
Prosecutors said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle towards a group of men about 100 meters away on their cattle ranch.
Outside court Monday, after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after more than two full days of deliberation, Kelly said “let me go home.”
Speaking to reporters, he said: “It is what it is and it will be what it is, let me go home.” I will continue fighting forever, I will not stop.’
The Mexican Consulate in Nogales has since said it hopes the state will retry the case and justice will be served.
Outside court on Monday, after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after more than two full days of deliberation, Kelly, seen here, said “let me go home.”
Kelly, 75, was accused of killing Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, seen here, last January at his home in Nogales, near the Mexican border.
Moreno said: ‘Mexico will follow the case and continue to accompany the family, who wants justice. We hope for a very fair result.”
Meanwhile, Robby Starbuck, a candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2022, said: ‘A group of illegal immigrants invaded George Alan Kelly’s property.
“After seeing guns, George defended his wife and home by firing warning shots into the air.
An illegal died and a woke district attorney tried to charge George with murder. A jury today voted 7 to 1 that he is NOT GUILTY.
‘The judge declared a mistrial. George didn’t do anything wrong. At least for now a great injustice has been avoided.
“Prosecutors now have to decide whether they will try to present the case a second time, which would be crazy given that they were only one juror away from a not guilty verdict.”
While former Fox producer Breanna Morello posted: ‘George Alan Kelly’s 2nd degree murder trial ends in a mistrial!!
‘This was a waste of taxpayers’ money. Kelly was innocent; the government was guilty.
His defense attorney, Kathy Lowthorp, said only one juror wanted to convict and seven wanted to acquit.
Conservatives have since welcomed Kelly’s mistrial, with one saying it was a waste of taxpayer money.
Prosecutors said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle toward a group of men about 100 yards away on his cattle ranch, as seen here.
Kelly is confident he will be acquitted if there is another trial: ‘They want ice water in you-know-where. And they don’t have it. So, it is what it is’
Kelly had said he fired warning shots into the air, but did not shoot directly at anyone in the group.
Kelly is confident he will be acquitted if there is another trial: ”They want ice water in you-know-where. And they don’t have it. So, it is what it is.’
‘We have no choice. We have to do it,” she told the Arizona Daily Star. “If you’re in a sand trap, you have to keep hacking until you get out.”
He was charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales.
Kelly had said he fired warning shots into the air, but did not shoot directly at anyone in the group.
The other migrants were not injured and all managed to return to Mexico.
He was also charged with aggravated assault against another person in the group, including a man who testified that he had gone to the United States that day to look for work.
Cuen-Buitimea lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, had entered the United States illegally several times and was deported, the last time in 2016, court records show.
The trial, which lasted nearly a month, coincided with a presidential election year that has sparked widespread interest in border security.
George Kelly and his wife Wanda arrive for an arraignment hearing at Arizona Superior Court in Nogales, Arizona.
County Attorney Michael Jette addresses jurors during closing arguments in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Nogales.
Judge Thomas Fink told jurors that if they could not reach a verdict on the second-degree murder charge, they could try to get a unanimous decision on a lesser charge of manslaughter or negligent homicide.
A conviction for second-degree murder would have carried a minimum prison sentence of ten years.
The jury received the case Thursday afternoon, deliberated briefly that day and then all of Friday and Monday before the judge declared a mistrial.
On Monday, Judge Fink said: ‘Based on the jury’s inability to reach a verdict on any charge. This case is in a mistrial.
The Santa Cruz County Prosecutor’s Office can still decide whether to retry Kelly on any charges or drop the case entirely.
A status hearing is scheduled for next Monday, when prosecutors could tell the judge whether they plan to refile the case.