Court filings by a lawyer representing a rancher in the Nogales area charged with the premeditated murder of a Mexican man found on his ranch said the rancher fired warning shots in self-defense earlier in the day. Allegedly, he provided additional details about the disastrous discovery in response to several armed men breaking into his ranch.
George Alan Kelly, 75, remains incarcerated at the Santa Cruz County Adult Detention Center on $1 million bail. He is scheduled to return to court on February 22 for a preliminary hearing.
His attorney, Brenna Larkin, filed a motion asking the judge to lower Kelly’s bail and release him, saying the amount was “clearly excessive and the defendant will fight to maintain his innocence.” It appears to be designated to keep the defendant in custody for a period of time.”
According to a 13-page document Larkin filed on February 9, Kelly had lunch with his wife on January 30 at his ranch in Kino Springs, east of Nogales. I got scared and found some men outside my house.
“They were armed with AK-47 rifles, dressed in khakis and camouflage, and carried large backpacks,” the motion said.
After calling the U.S. Border Patrol Ranch Liaison, who is responsible for assisting ranchers in border areas, for help, Kelly stepped out onto the porch with his rifle and fired several shots over the heads of the armed men. Fired a warning shot to scare them.Motion. The men panicked and left.
A Border Patrol agent and a Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy arrived at his ranch minutes later, but could find no one nearby.
Not everyone is lucky.This family fled Mexico and sought asylum through an app
A few hours later, around sunset, as Kelly was examining the horses, one of his dogs spotted something on the ground. As he approached, according to his movements, he could see the man’s body lying face down in the grass. Kelly called the Border Patrol Ranch Liaison again to report the body.
The remains belonged to Gabriel Kuhn Buitimere, 48, of Nogales, Sonora. His identity was identified because he had a Mexican voter registration card. According to Mr. Larkin’s motion, Mr. Quen Buitimere also carried a radio and wore Tactical’s boots.
Agents arrested Kelly and confiscated two rifles from his home to see if they were used in the shooting. However, Larkin argued that the evidence available so far to charge Kelly with first-degree murder was so weak that agents and investigators were unable to find the body when they first showed up. pointed out that it was not
“No bullets have been found for testing to determine which gun fired the fatal shot,” the motion reads. It is quite possible that he was the victim of drug traffickers.”
Kelly’s home is about 1.5 miles north of the Arizona-Mexico border and about 8 miles east of Nogales. Larkin noted that illegal activity is not uncommon in the area, but said Kelly was justified in firing warning shots.
Larkin added that Kelly was threatened by other inmates and forced into protective custody and a 23-hour lockdown.
“If Mr. Kelly were to be released on custody of[his wife]or on his own acknowledgment, he would know both his freedom and his ability to care, so the terms of his release would “For his wife, the animals and the ranch depend on it,” said Larkin.
According to the motion, Kelly and his wife started the ranch in Arizona in 1997.
