A major state witness to an Arizona rancher, who was charged with murdering a Mexican in January, had served time in 2015 on charges of smuggling cannabis across the Arizona-Mexico border.

Court documents show that the witness brought a bundle of nearly 50 pounds of cannabis in a backpack to the United States near Sonoita, Arizona. The man, whose name has not been released by the state, served nearly seven months in a plea deal for misdemeanor cannabis possession.

The witness claims to have witnessed the shooting of Gabriel Kuen Buitimere, 48, on January 30 and identified George Alan Kelly as the shooter.

Kelly, 75, has been charged with second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault in the Buitimere shooting.

According to AZCentral.com, a witness reenacted Buitimere’s death during dramatic testimony at a preliminary evidence hearing in February and was identified only by her initials, DRR. Witnesses claim they were traveling with Bitimere with a group of men who had crossed the Kelly compound when they reportedly started firing. The witness appeared to testify wearing a blue medical face mask, a black sweatshirt, and a blue hoodie pulled over his head to conceal his identity.

Kelly’s attorney, Brenna Larkin, filed a motion that said the state interviewed a witness before the hearing in February, who said he never brought drugs into the United States.

Larkin claimed Kelly shot over the head of a gunman walking on his property in self-defense. Santa Cruz County Acting Chief Deputy Attorney Kimberly Hanley said Kelly shot and ultimately killed Buitimere in the back while he was trying to escape for his life.

Larkin said Kelly heard a gunshot while he was having lunch with his wife on January 30. Kelly saw the horse startle away and he noticed a mob armed with AK-47 rifles moving through the trees near his home.

Kelly is now free on a $1 million bond and is due to appear in two more hearings in August before his trial begins on Sept. 6.

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