NOGALES — A Nogales-area rancher accused of murdering a Mexican national pleaded not guilty on Monday as a judge set a trial to tentatively begin Sept. 6.
George Alan Kelly faces one count of second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault. The arraignment was before Judge Thomas Fink of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court in Nogales.
Kelly is accused of shooting and killing 48-year-old Gabriel Kuhn Buitimere after his body was found on January 30 on Kelly’s approximately 170-acre property. During the arraignment, it was revealed that the state executed another search warrant against Kelly’s property on Monday.
Kelly appeared in court on Monday wearing a denim shirt, jeans and a white cowboy hat. Sitting next to him was his wife Wanda.
Kelly had previously faced first-degree murder charges, but the charges were reduced at the preliminary hearing.The arraignment hopes Mexican authorities will maintain the first-degree murder charges against Kelly. It was done in response to what was said.
Mexico’s consular protection chief Vanessa Calva said Friday that Mexico told U.S. prosecutors that the first-degree murder charge more accurately represents what happened to Buiti Mare.
Discord across borders: Mexico was seeking first-degree murder charges against AZ rancher in fatal migrant shooting
Santa Cruz County Chief Deputy Attorney Kimberly Hanley claimed that Kelly shot Butimemare in the back as he was trying to escape for his life, ultimately killing him.
Kelly’s attorney, Brenna Larkin, claims that Kelly fired a gunshot over the head of a gunman walking on his property in self-defense.
Kelly apparently wrote a book titled Far Beyond the Border Fence, detailing a contemporary narrative about “bringing the Mexican border/drug conflict into the 21st century.”
The book follows a ranch owner in southern Arizona who must rescue his family and horses after discovering a hole in the southern fence leading to Mexico. According to the book’s description on Amazon, ranchers must face “an international plan to destroy the twin cities of America and Mexico.”
Case explainer: What you need to know about Nogales rancher on trial for murder in shooting of Mexican immigrant
Kelly’s home is about 1.5 miles north of the US-Mexico border and about 8 miles east of Nogales.
On Monday, Larkin asked the judge not to pursue the case due to the trial and its 60-day duration. I filed a 12-page motion.
In the motion, Larkin argued that Kelly was denied “substantial procedural rights” when the court denied Kelly’s motion to continue at a preliminary hearing.
An amended complaint, which reduced the indictment from first-degree murder to second-degree murder, was filed the day before the preliminary hearing and “substantially” changed the theory of the case, the motion read.
Kelly was charged with second-degree murder, and the motion read that due process rights had been stripped from Kelly “shortly before” a preliminary hearing.
According to the motion, without continuation, the defense was not permitted to consult with an expert to challenge the state’s action against Kelly.
Have news tips or story ideas about the border and its communities? Contact our reporters josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.
