Attorney Brenna Larkin asked the judge to consider whether there were probable grounds to try Kelly for second-degree murder, a decision made at a preliminary hearing earlier this spring. She also asked the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office to disqualify her from prosecuting the case, saying it demonstrated “professional misconduct.”

The crux of Larkin’s argument is that the alleged witness to seeing Mr. Kelly shoot Gabriel-Queen Buitimere on January 30 was unreliable, and the county prosecutor did not allow the witness’ testimony at the preliminary hearing. largely depended on her claim that she did not attempt to correct the

Regardless of witness testimony, Fink said, “the court will find probable cause to hold the defendant for the purposes of the proceedings.”

Larkin has also tried other approaches, alleging in a motion that George Silva County Attorney George Silva was disqualified for his position as an election official, but the judge quickly dismissed this on Wednesday.

After dismissing the allegations, Fink moved on to prepare for Kelly’s upcoming jury trial.

“The trial date has been set for September 6. The court intends to proceed with the case as scheduled,” he said.

Mr Kelly was arrested on January 30 after directing authorities to the body of Mr Quen Buitimea. The 48-year-old Mexican is believed to have entered the United States from Nogales, Sonora. The Pima County coroner’s office subsequently ruled Kuen Buitimere’s death a homicide because of gunshot wounds.

Initially, the county attorney’s office charged Kelly with first-degree murder and later reduced the charge to second-degree murder. He also faces two related assault charges.

Mr. Kelly has pleaded not guilty through Mr. Larkin, who claims Mr. Kelly only fired defensive warning shots over the heads of several men he claimed were armed on his ranch. are doing. But county prosecutors say Kelly confronted the migrant group and opened fire, and so far there has been no evidence that the men were armed.

At a preliminary hearing in February, Peace Court Judge Emilio Velázquez found that Kelly had probable cause to stand trial. Since then, Kelly’s defense has expanded its list of objections to derail the pending trial.

In addition to complaints against witnesses and county prosecutors, Mr. Larkin alleges that Mr. Velázquez wrongfully refused requests for a preliminary hearing at a later date.

Prior to the preliminary hearing, Mr. Larkin requested 60 days of continued hearing. But Velázquez rejected the request, and after hearing evidence at a February 24 hearing, determined that Kelly had good cause to go to trial.

A few days later, Larkin filed a motion to reconsider Velázquez’s sentence, again noting that Velázquez had denied her continuing.

“By refusing to give the defense time to consult with experts, they were also denied their substantive procedural rights,” Larkin said.

But on Wednesday, Mr. Fink noted that Mr. Kelly was actually given more time than usual before the preliminary hearings.

If the defendant is in custody, a preliminary hearing must be held within 10 days, Fink explained. (Kelly spent about three weeks in jail before posting bail.)

“The hearing went beyond the normal time limit,” Fink noted.

Further, a preliminary hearing is not a trial, and Mr. Kelly has not been convicted and has not been convicted, he said. The purpose of the hearing, he said, is simply to determine whether there is a low level of probable cause to hold a trial.

“A preliminary hearing is a procedure in which the state is required to show probable cause for the court to retain jurisdiction, and the defendant is given an opportunity, if he wishes, to show why probable cause does not exist.” Mr Fink said. .

At a preliminary hearing in February, two witnesses took the stand to testify that they had crossed the border with Quen Buitimea.

A witness, identified only by the initials DRR, said the migrant group noticed the border guards and turned back to avoid being seen. DRR said gunshots were heard as they were heading south toward the border.

“(Queen Buitimea) said to me, ‘I got hit!'” DRR said.

DRR identified the man who saw Kelly firing in court.

At one point on Wednesday, Larkin said DRR claimed to have only spoken to Sheriff’s Department detectives about the shooting, but that he also appeared to have been interviewed by the county attorney’s office.

“The witness made a false statement in court … the prosecution knew the statement was false,” Larkin said.

Larkin said after the preliminary hearing, the defense heard a hearing between the county attorney’s office and the DRR.

“There seems to have been some pretty clear guidance there,” Larkin said.

Larkin did not name an instance of “coaching” in court Wednesday, but noted in a complaint filed last month that prosecutors allegedly coached witnesses on how to discuss distance in their testimony. bottom.

Larkin also alleged on multiple occasions that prosecutors failed to fulfill their obligations to disclose witness interviews with the defense. However, the county attorney’s office claims that staff emailed Mr. Larkin the interview before the preliminary hearing.

“I must have missed it somehow,” Larkin said at Wednesday’s hearing.

At the preliminary hearings in February, some aspects of DRR’s testimony differed slightly. For example, a witness testified in court that Kino Springs was east of the city of Nogales, but crossed the border west of the city of Nogales. Still, Fink said that even if he completely ignored DRR’s testimony, there was still the possibility that Kelly would go to trial.

“Even if you separate it from all other evidence presented … the court will find probable cause to bind the defendant for the purposes of the proceedings,” Fink said.

In his motion to disqualify the county attorney’s office, Larkin also said that the chief prosecutor, Kimberly Hanley, was at the scene of the investigation with Silva and could be called as a witness at trial.

Fink acknowledged the allegation, noting that it is possible for prosecutors to testify in criminal cases, but added that it is generally not approved by the courts.

Still, he added, “I think it’s too early to draw any conclusions on that point.”

Additionally, Mr Larkin alluded to Silva’s position as an elected official and that his re-election intentions could create a conflict of interest in the case.

“Both Mr. Hanley and Mr. Silva plan to run for political office in the near future,” Larkin said in the motion. “This case has political implications and ramifications as it involves border issues that are hotly debated politically.”

Silva is an elected member of Congress, but Hanley is not.

Larkin didn’t bring up that argument at Wednesday’s hearing, but when members of the prosecution team started bringing it up, Fink interrupted. “It doesn’t count… so we can move on to something else.”

In reply to Mr. Larkin’s allegations, Mr. Hanley wrote that defense counsel “misleads the court by deliberately misrepresenting or omitting facts that contradict his own story,” Larkin said. The office added that his complaint “appears to be designed to pander to the media” through allegations against the county attorney.

One of the few points of testimony agreed by the defense and prosecution is that Kelly encountered a group of men at the ranch on the afternoon of January 30.

Larkin said the men were armed and one person “pointed an AK-47 at[Kelly].”

Kelly then fired over the men, Larkin said.

“(Kelly) does not believe his warning shots could have hit a person or caused death,” Larkin said in a February court filing.

Meanwhile, the county attorney’s office alleges Kelly ambushed a group of immigrants.

“It is the state’s position that Mr. Kelly shot an unarmed man in the back in an unprovoked attack as he was trying to escape for his life,” Hanley said at a hearing in February.

Other details and evidence came to light as the case developed and gained national attention.

In January, a day after Kelly’s arrest, NI discovered a novel apparently written by Kelly, depicting an Arizona border region rife with drug and immigration smuggling. The book “Beyond the Border Fence” described a protagonist named George who “had to patrol the ranch daily armed with an AK-47”, alluding to the anti-immigrant “great alternative” theory. .

Then in March, NI obtained multiple audio recordings of calls between Kelly and law enforcement officers on the day of the alleged shooting. In one call, a Border Patrol agent spoke with a sheriff’s deputy and described a conversation he had with Kelly shortly after the alleged shooting.

“What he said was that he believes he may have hit something after examining the property,” the agent said. “(Kelly) said the words ‘probably hit something.'”

In addition, two witnesses who claimed to have crossed the border with Quen Buitimea gave somewhat inconsistent testimony at a preliminary hearing on 24 February. Witnesses offered various accounts, including whether Quen Buitimea was a guide for immigrants and whether the shooting occurred near their home.

A trial is currently scheduled for early September, and defense and prosecution plans to continue discovery efforts to gather witness testimony, forensic information, and other potential evidence.

One of those witnesses was summoned Wednesday. Kelly’s wife, Wanda, wore jeans and sneakers and sat quietly in the public courtroom a few feet away from her husband.

“It was very difficult to summon her,” Hanley told Fink.

Hanley said the county attorney’s office had been trying for months to subpoena Wanda Kelly, an alleged witness to the incident, to testify.

Outside the courtroom on Wednesday morning, county detectives quietly handed Wanda Kelly papers requiring her to testify if she was called to court.