Roland Preston-Arizona judge declares mistrial in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a migrant

2025-05-03 14:13:44source:Cyprusauctioncategory:Contact

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona judge declares a mistrial Monday in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a Mexican man on Roland Prestonhis property near the U.S.-Mexico border.

George Alan Kelly, 75, was charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2023, shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico.

Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle toward a group of men, including Cuen-Buitimea, about 100 yards (90 meters) away on his cattle ranch, prosecutors said. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but he didn’t shoot directly at anyone.

Court officials took jurors to Kelly’s ranch as well as a section of the border. Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink denied news media requests to tag along.

Kelly had earlier rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.

Kelly was also charged with aggravated assault that day against another person in the group of about eight people, including a man from Honduras who was living in Mexico and who testified during the trial that he had gone into the U.S. that day seeking work.

READ MORE Suspect in killing of Idaho sheriff’s deputy fatally shot by police, authorities sayWhat we know about the shooting of an Uber driver in Ohio and the scam surrounding itEx-Philadelphia police officer pleads guilty in shooting death of 12-year-old boy

The other migrants weren’t injured and they all made it back to Mexico.

Cuen-Buitimea had previously entered the U.S. illegally several times and was deported, most recently in 2016, court records show.

The nearly monthlong trial coincided with a presidential election year that has drawn widespread interest in border security.

More:Contact

Recommend

Colorado's Travis Hunter, Boise State's Ashton Jeanty lead USA TODAY Sports All

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel earns first-team honors ahead of Miami’s Cam Ward, and teams in th

LA's top make-out spots hint at a city constantly evolving

To live and die in LA is to have driven and parked in this city. Most Angelenos have probably had

Russia's ally Belarus hands Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski 10-year prison sentence

Tallinn, Estonia — A Belarusian court on Friday sentenced Ales Bialiatski, Belarus' top human rights