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March 7, 2023 | 11:08 PM
Arizona rancher George Kelly told the 911 dispatcher that he had “animals lying face down” on his property after he was allegedly shot dead by an illegal immigrant. According to records obtained by The Washington Post, Border Patrol agents determined that he was “intentionally obscure” with authorities. .
Kelly — accused of killing 48-year-old Gabriel Cuenbuitimere after firing an AK-47 at a fleeing group of unarmed border crossers — called officers to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 30. I begged him to send me to Nogales Ranch, but I refused. We will reveal more details.
Kelly, 74, will not speak on the phone, according to call recordings.
During the approximately eight-minute call, the dispatcher pleaded with Kelly to provide the background to his request so he could ensure the safety of the responding agent.
When the dispatcher shared that Border Patrol agents had already reported the shooting, the rancher reiterated his desire to “keep quiet” and clearly stated that “nothing was fired.”
“I don’t want to bother you and I don’t want to bother you,” Kelly said. “What I’m saying is we need a sheriff’s deputy here…that’s all I can say right now, ma’am.”
“I do not admit what I did.”
The dispatcher kept asking Kelly for more information and was finally able to get the increasingly frustrated rancher to assert that the corpse was involved.
The rancher refused to confirm if it was human, at one point referring to the deceased as “it.”
He told the dispatcher: Animals do not live and do not live. There were no signs of blood. The animals were just lying face down. “
Kelly told the sheriff’s office that there was no point in sending an ambulance to the scene.
“There is nothing that EMTs or emergency services can help with.”
A recording provided by the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office revealed that Kelly also contacted Border Patrol about the incident before calling 911.
A Border Patrol supervisor called the Sheriff’s Office about Kelly and reported that the rancher was “intentionally vague” in providing agents with details of the shooting, according to a transcript of the conversation.
“What he said was, ‘I’ve checked my stuff and I believe I may have hit something.'” He said those words: probably something I hit it,” reported the supervisor.
On Monday, Kelly pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges in the death of Cuenbuitimere, who was found on a rancher’s property about 150 feet from the U.S.-Mexico border.
Kelly’s defense alleges he believed he was under siege by armed traffickers, and the fear was justified after seeing other people with rifles pass his property in the past. He claimed that he had shot them in the head in self-defense.
His defense attorney, Brena Larkin, said in Santa Cruz County court that her client had been targeted by smugglers who threatened witnesses and distorted investigations.
Prosecutors dropped Kelly’s count of one count of first-degree murder. This required a finding of premeditated intent to murder, which could lead to a death sentence.
He was allowed to remain free on $1 million bail.
The county attorney’s office told the Post that footage from the police’s body-worn camera was not available because it was not used in the incident.
