April 23 (UPI) — An unanimous jury on Monday ordered a mistrial for Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, who shot and killed an unarmed immigrant on his property in 2023.

Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial around 4:30 p.m. Monday after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after 15 hours of deliberations. Arizona Republic and Local Media report.

advertisement

Fink scheduled a hearing for Monday to determine whether the Santa Cruz County Prosecutor's Office will retry the case.

Santa Cruz County District Attorney George Silva did not immediately return a call seeking comment about the possibility of retrying the case.

After Fink issued the mistrial, Kelly told reporters that he “won't be cowed” by county prosecutors if there is a retrial.

Kelly, 75, is charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the Jan. 30, 2023, shooting death of Gabriel Kueng Buitimea.

Another man, Daniel Ramirez, had accompanied Vuitimere and said the two were looking for work in the U.S. Prosecutors alleged Kelly also put Ramirez's life in danger.

Buitemere was a Mexican immigrant whose body was found about 120 years ago on Kelly's front porch at his 170-acre ranch near Nogales, Arizona.

Kelly's lawyers said he fired warning shots after he made several calls to the US Border Patrol that a group of men armed with AK-47s were on his property.

Witnesses and prosecutors said the men were unarmed.

One of Kelly's lawyers, Kathleen Lowthorpe, told reporters she would represent the defendant if the prosecution decided to retry the case.

Kelly's wife, Wanda, told reporters that the past 15 months have been a living worry and that they will have to wait a while longer to know if the issue has been resolved.