George Alan Kelly, the Arizona rancher who became the face of the border crisis after being accused of fatally shooting a migrant on his land, says he feels vindicated after the charges were dropped.
Kelly, 75, was charged with the murder of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, a Mexican national found dead on Kelly’s sprawling ranch in January 2023.
He insists that he never shot Cuen-Buitimea, but only fired a warning shot to scare away groups of immigrants who regularly crossed his land.
Last week, a jury failed to reach a verdict after one of the holdout jurors refused to acquit him, and on Monday prosecutors announced they would not seek a new trial.
In his first major interview since the charges were dropped, Kelly says he and his wife are trying to “start our lives over.”
“I don’t feel like I was treated fairly in the investigation,” Kelly told NewsNation. “I think they arrested me without cause, without probable cause.”
George Alan Kelly, the Arizona rancher who became the face of the border crisis after being accused of fatally shooting a migrant on his land, says he feels vindicated after the charges were dropped.
Kelly, 75, was charged with the murder of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, a Mexican national found dead on Kelly’s sprawling ranch in January 2023.
He said that despite a crowdfunding service Although he helps Kelly and his wife, he still fears for the future.
“That cloud is still over my head,” he said. ‘It’s a long road and we’re not out of the woods yet, but we won’t give up. I’m not going to let them defeat me.’
Kelly adds that the crisis on the border between the United States and Mexico worries him about the state of his land.
“I’ve lived in a place like this my whole life,” Kelly said. ‘I’m not afraid to exist here. But I know it is a clear risk.
He said he lived in constant fear and was desperate to protect his wife after multiple incidents.
Prosecutors allege Kelly recklessly fired his AK-47 nine times at a group of immigrants 100 yards away who were invading his 170-acre cattle ranch near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Kelly and his wife Wanda arrive for an arraignment hearing at Arizona Superior Court in Nogales, Arizona.
A poster that refers to Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, a Mexican found dead on George Alan Kelly’s ranch.
The group, which included Cuen-Buitimea, was allegedly fleeing border patrol agents, according to law enforcement officials.
At trial, prosecutors claimed Kelly’s story to border patrol officers kept changing, first saying he returned fire at the five individuals shooting at him, then saying it was a group of 10 to 15 people armed with rifles. AR style, ABC News reported.
Kelly said he fired warning shots into the air to scare the group and never intended to hit, much less kill, anyone.
The defense said authorities were lying about Kelly admitting to shooting several people.
“That was not true, Alan never said that,” said Kelly’s attorney, Brenna Larkin.
“The authorities didn’t listen and didn’t care, they already decided he was guilty.”
George Alan Kelly enters court for his preliminary hearing at the Nogales Justice Court in Nogales
Reporters follow Kelly as he leaves the Santa Cruz County Courthouse.
Lowthorp said Kelly is “in good spirits” and has decided to retain her and Larkin once again if there is to be another trial.
Cuen-Buitimea, who was found with a bullet hole in his back at Kelly’s ranch, lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico.
He had previously entered the United States illegally several times and was deported, most recently in 2016, court records show.
Kelly was also charged with aggravated assault against another person in the group who ended up on his property, including a man from Honduras who lived in Mexico and who testified during the trial that he had gone to the United States that day to look for work.
A second-degree murder conviction would have required a minimum prison sentence of 10 years.
