By Anita Snow -
The Associated Press
The prosecutor in the case against an Arizona rancher accused of killing a Mexican on his property near the US-Mexico border, said George Alan Kelly, 73, began shooting "out of nowhere" at a group about eight unarmed migrants who entered the United States irregularly.
Kimberly Hunley, assistant district attorney for Santa Cruz County in Nogales, Ariz., presented the case Wednesday during a hearing as the court released a document she filed Tuesday saying Kelly began shooting on Jan. 30. “out of the blue” against the group of migrants,
without giving them a notice or asking them to leave their property
.
Kelly faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Gabriel Cuen Butimea, who lived across the border in Nogales, Mexico.
Court records show that Cuen was convicted of entering the country irregularly and deported to Mexico several times, most recently in 2016.
[Arizona rancher arrested in shooting death of Mexican man near border]
Two other members of the group also denounced Kelly, which led to the modification of the case against him to include
two counts of aggravated assault
“using a rifle, deadly weapon or dangerous instrument” after opening fire on his farm.
The two migrants were in the line of fire but were not hit by bullets, according to court documents updated Wednesday.
One described seeing how Cuen Butimea was hit and
assured that they felt as if they were being hunted.
Both fled back to Mexico but are willing to testify in the case against Kelly, according to the documents.
George Alan Kelly during his preliminary hearing in the Justice Court in Nogales, Arizona, on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.Mark Henle / AP
The court, prosecutor's office and county police "have received disturbing reports, some of a threatening nature, which appear to indicate an ongoing threat to the safety of victims," Hunley's updated evidence states.
The prosecutor indicated that Kelly's comments are not consistent with what members of the group told law enforcement agencies, and that the rancher's version has changed over time.
["They forced me to defend my rights": the Mexican saxophonist who survived an acid attack ordered by her ex-partner]
“Kelly shot an unarmed man in the back as he was fleeing
, in addition to shooting other individuals without warning or provocation,” Hunley alleged in the documents, arguing against reducing the million-dollar cash bail imposed. to the suspect.
The prosecutor specified that
the group "did not represent any threat to him or his family
," but Kelly "shot them repeatedly with an AK-47, hitting and killing one of them."
Kelly's attorney, Brenna Larkin, said the rancher did not shoot or kill Cuen, but said earlier that day he fired warning shots at suspected smugglers carrying AK-47s and backpacks he found on his property.
Gonzalez v.
Google: the case before the Supreme Court for a murdered Latina who could change the internet
Feb 21, 202301:56
The Justice of the Peace, Emilio G. Velásquez, ordered on Wednesday that Kelly's bail be changed from one in cash, to one of guarantee, which will allow him to be released from prison and wait at his ranch while the process is resolved.
Velasquez scheduled another hearing for 9 a.m. Friday in Santa Cruz County court.
“We are following this case very closely,” said the Mexican consul general in Nogales, Arizona, Marcos Moreno Báez.
“We have been present at court appearances and
are in contact with the victim's family, helping in any way we can
,” he said.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/PFCASL26NJGBTAP7F55QP67V3I.jpg)
