A defense attorney for a 74-year-old Arizona rancher accused of shooting an unarmed illegal immigrant trespasser lost a lawsuit on March 6 seeking a 60-day delay in setting a trial date for his client. .

Brenna Larkin insisted on continuing so the court could have time to consider the lower court’s ruling that found probable cause in the second-degree murder of defendant George Alan Kelly.

“We have experts involved. We’d love to see the forensic evidence in this case, hopefully pretty quickly,” Larkin told Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink.

“There are several large-scale investigations the defense must complete in this matter.”

Larkin said he learned that authorities issued a third search warrant against Kelly’s property on March 6, but the results of that search are still unknown.

That’s why the case needed to be continued, she said.

“So the state continues to collect evidence to continue the investigation, and we must disclose all of its results,” Larkin said.

However, Fink started the trial on Sept. 6 and retained its original decision to keep that date “for now.”

“If there are extenuating circumstances during the process that require continuation, file a motion so the state will have an opportunity to respond to the motion,” he said.

Kelly, who owns a border ranch in Santa Cruz County, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges during an arraignment in Santa Cruz County Superior Court on March 6.

He was originally Mexican national Gabriel Cuen, who was found dead hours later on the Kelly compound after clashing with a group of camouflage-wearing illegal immigrants on January 30. -Buitimea, 43), was charged with first-degree murder.

Prosecutors later downgraded the charge to second-degree murder.

“Many Armed Men”

In late February, a Nogales magistrate ruled that Kelly was likely to face a trial for second-degree murder and aggravated assault with a lethal weapon.

Kelly remains free after placing a $1 million bond on his property.

In a motion seeking reconsideration of probable causes, the defense alleges that on January 30, Kelly and his wife were having lunch when they heard gunshots and saw a horse running. .

The couple claimed that “a large number of armed men” were carrying rifles and large backpacks and “running through the trees.”

According to the motion, Kelly told his wife to keep quiet when he sought help from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection ranch liaison.

“Mr. Kelly went to his back porch [AK-47] Rifle fire to deter drug traffickers from approaching his home,” the motion reads. “[He] Fired warning shots over armed drug traffickers on his property.

One member of the group reportedly pointed his rifle at Kelly before he fired a warning shot.

shoot over the head

Defense attorneys say Kelly shot the intruder “sufficiently” in the head and “didn’t shoot anyone during the incident.”

“A group of traffickers fled through the desert, and Mr. Kelly again sought help from the ranch liaison,” it reads.

The motion acknowledges Kelly’s “inconsistent” remarks in an interview with authorities that the man had a firearm.

Sheriff’s deputies and Border Patrol agents were unable to locate the man during an initial search of Kelly’s property.

A second search of Kelly’s property found Kelly’s AK-47, ammunition, and eight spent cartridge cases in and around the pouch.

Later in the day Kelly walked over to the pasture to check on the horses. His dog then found the man’s body lying face down near a mesquite tree about 100 yards from Kelly’s home.

According to the motion, the man was carrying a camouflage rucksack and a two-way portable radio, indicating he was “a smuggler of sorts, not an immigrant.”

Border “volatile” political climate

Law enforcement later identified the man as Cuen-Buitimea. Cuen-Buitimea is an illegal immigrant who has reportedly crossed the US border several times before.

Prosecutors alleged that Kelly, a white man, confronted a group of unarmed men on his property and began firing at them, beating and killing Quen Buitimere.

A male witness testified at Kelly’s probable cause hearing on February 24 that he saw Kelly shoot Quen Butimemere, who then grabbed him by the chest and fell to the ground.

“Without conducting an actual forensic investigation, law enforcement decided to arrest Mr. Kelly and charge him with first-degree premeditated murder,” the defense motion states.

“The political situation regarding the border issue is highly volatile and the incident has attracted public attention.”

Mexico intervenes

The Mexican government believes Kelly should be tried for first-degree murder, which could result in a death sentence in Arizona. Mexican diplomat Vanessa Calva said Mexican officials told U.S. prosecutors that the circumstances surrounding the manner of Quen Buitimea’s death appeared to be premeditated.

Meanwhile, several people who “claimed to be witnesses” came forward in the case, according to the defense’s allegations.

“The more likely conclusion is that [Cuen-Buitimea] Mr. Kelly was shot by someone else while he was eating lunch, and Mr. Kelly heard the fatal shot before seeing armed traffickers running through the trees.