Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Rancher George Alan Kelly Following A Mistrial

Original article here.

Rancher George Alan Kelly, who was arrested and charged with second degree murder in Jan. 2023 after shooting and killing a Mexican national who was on his property, has had charges against him dropped after his year long legal saga concluded with a mistrial.

Prosecutors announced Monday that they would not request a retrial and all charges against Kelly would be dropped, after only one of the jurors believed that Kelly was guilty of the charged crime.

“Because of the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding this case, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office has decided not to seek a retrial,” Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley said during Monday’s status hearing, according to Nogales International.

“We don’t have any objection to that, Your Honor,” said defense attorney Brenna Larkin.

Kelly reportedly told reporters as he left the courtroom, “The nightmare’s over.”

Another status hearing will be set to decide whether the case will be dismissed with prejudice or without. If the case is dismissed without prejudice, charges will be unable to be re-filed, while if it is dismissed with prejudice, the door could be opened for a re-filing of the charges.

Deliberations began on April 18th, according to Fox News, and after two days of deliberations, and multiple attempts to reach a verdict, Arizona Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial.

Kelly received significant support on social media following the mistrial, with many saying that a retrial should not occur and Kelly should be freed.

The case revolved around the Jan. 30, 2023 shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, a Mexican national, who was found dead from a bullet wound on Kelly’s 170-acre cattle ranch near Keno Springs.

Prosecutor Mike Jette alleged that Kelly had recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle towards Cuen-Buitimea, who was with a group of other men. Kelly admitted that he had fired the weapon, but said they were warning shots, fired into the air, according to the Associated Press.

Cuen-Buitimea suffered three broken ribs and a severed aorta, and his body was found 115 yards away from Kelly’s home. However, while investigators did recover nine bullet casings from Kelly’s porch, Fox 10 Phoenix reported that the bullet that allegedly killed Cuen-Buitimea was not found.

After the trial came to a conclusion, Kelly’s defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp expressed confidence that they would be victorious in the near future. “We firmly believe that the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” Lowthorp stated to reporters outside the courthouse, according to The Daily Mail. “Try it again and maybe this time we will have all fair jurors that follow the law.”