Nogales, Ariz. (Associated Press) A jury opened the trial Thursday for a southern Arizona rancher accused of shooting and killing an unarmed migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink gave instructions to the jury and ordered deliberations to begin.
During closing arguments early Thursday morning, defense lawyers discussed the actions of 75-year-old George Alan Kelly, who is charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2023, shooting death of Gabriel Kueng Buitimea.
Quyen Buitimea, 48, had been living in Nogales, Mexico, just south of the border, and according to court records, had previously entered the United States illegally on multiple occasions and was most recently deported in 2016.
Case As border security remains a top issue in this year's election, the ranchers have drawn national attention and sympathy from some on the political right.
Quen Buitimere was among a group of men Kelly encountered on the property. Prosecutor Mike Jette said Kelly He recklessly fired his AK-47 rifle. towards the group about 100 yards away.
Kelly said he fired warning shots into the air but did not fire directly at anyone because he feared for the safety of himself, his wife and his property.
“He says he shot from 100 yards above their heads, but he never told police he feared for his life,” Judge Jette said in his closing argument.
Jette said Kuyen Buitimea was shot nine times, breaking several ribs and severed aorta.
Judge Jette urged the jury to find Mr Kelly guilty of manslaughter or manslaughter if they could not convict him of murder.
In his closing argument, his lawyer, Brenna Larkin, said Kelly was “in a life or death situation” and that it was a “frightening situation” for him.
“He faced a threat just outside his home,” Larkin said. “He was completely justified in using deadly force, but he did not. The state did not prove that Alan shot that individual. This is an acquittal.”
The other migrants at Kelly's ranch in 2023 were not injured and were able to escape back into Mexico.
Larkin said groups of migrants passing through Kelly's land has been a growing concern in recent years, leading him to arm himself for protection.
During the trial, which lasted more than two weeks, jurors toured Kelly's 170-acre (69-hectare) ranch in Nogales, Arizona.
Kelly said at the start of the lawsuit: Agreement with the prosecution If he had pleaded guilty, the charge would have been reduced to one count of manslaughter.
Kelly was also charged with aggravated assault against another person in the group of about eight people, including a man from Honduras who lived in Mexico and testified during the trial that he was in the United States that day looking for work.
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