(NewsNation) — Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly said he and his wife are trying to “get our lives together” after his trial for shooting and killing a Mexican national on his property along the southern border ended with a deadlocked jury.
Watch the full interview
“It's not my fault. I didn't do it,” Kelly told NewsNation in an interview just days after Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial. “Someone else is to blame.”
Kelly recounted the events of Jan. 30, 2023, saying he saw men coming toward his home, one of them holding a weapon.
“He turned towards me and pointed the AK at me and that's when people said it was the stupidest thing I've ever done but he was getting ready to shoot you and you should have shot him,” he said.
“I don't know why, but I said, 'No, I'm not going to do it.' I went through the trees and shot him over the head. I'm thankful he and the other guys got away.”
Later, while trying to lead his dogs away from what he thought was a skunk, he discovered the body and called the sheriff's office.
“They accused me of shooting him. I said, 'No, I didn't,' and they said, 'Well, we think you did and we're arresting you for first-degree murder.'”
He ended up spending 22 days in jail, which he calls the worst days of his life. “If that's what hell is like, I'm going to do everything in my power to not go there.”
“I don't believe I was treated fairly in the investigation. I believe I was arrested for no reason, for no legitimate reason.”
Kelly, 75, was charged in connection with the murder of unarmed immigrant Gabriel Kueng Buitimea. Second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges in Kelly's death were dropped after prosecutors decided not to retry Kelly's case.
Quen Buitimere, 48, lives in Nogales, Mexico, just south of the border, and was with the group of men Kelly encountered on his property last year.
Prosecutor Mike Jette said Kelly recklessly fired an AK-47 rifle at the group about 100 yards away. The rancher acknowledged firing warning shots into the air but denied Kelly fired directly at anyone. Other migrants at Kelly's ranch in 2023 were not injured and fled back into Mexico.
After detectives searched the scene, Kelly found the body but no bullets.
Kelly said he was concerned at the time about the safety of himself, his wife and his property — a concern he still has today because of the situation on the US-Mexico border. A neighbor down the road from Kelly told NewsNation that the Border Patrol had been called to his ranch at least 30 times in March.
“I've lived in places like this my whole life,” Kelly said. “I'm not worried about being here, but I know it's definitely dangerous.”
A mounting legal hurdle makes it even harder to get a fresh start. “We don't have the money,” Kelly said.
“Our retirement savings are gone,” he said.
Unbeknownst to Kelly, his wife had begun a fundraising campaign through a Christian website. Send Send Kelly said people have donated anywhere from $2 to $10,000 to help pay for attorney fees and other legal costs.
Kelly added that this is enough to keep the company afloat, but there is still a long fight ahead.
“The clouds are still hanging over me,” he said. “There's a long way to go and the danger is not over yet, but we won't give up. I'm not going to let them defeat me.”
NewsNation digital producer Damita Menezes, field producer Travis Harrison and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
