US prosecutors said they will not open a new case against a Arizona rancher whose trial for the murder of a Mexican on your property ended last week without a verdict of the jury.
The jurors in the case against George Alan Kelly were unable to reach a unanimous decision on the verdict this Monday, April 29, after more than two days of deliberations. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial on April 22.
After that decision, the Santa Cruz County prosecutor’s office had the option of taking it back to trial to Kelly or dismiss the case.
“Due to the unique circumstances and challenges of this case, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office decided not seek a new trial“Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley told Fink on Monday.
Fink agreed to dismiss the case. He noted that a hearing will be scheduled at a later date. to determine whether to dismisswhich would mean that the case could not be processed again.
Brenna Larkin, Kelly’s attorney, told the judge she will file a motion to have the case dismissed. Larkin did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
To a question from a television network reporter KGUN from Tucson how it felt, Kelly responded that he was “relieved.”.
“The nightmare is over,” he added, saying that The victim’s family has “my sincere condolences”.
Kelly was followed out of the room by demonstrators protesting in the name of Gabriel Cuen Buitimea, the 48-year-old Mexican migrant who He was shot dead on January 30 of last year..
“Gabriel was a human being,” could be read on a banner held by one of the protesters.
“Someone who walks 90 meters away It is not a threat” read another, which demanded a new trial.
Kelly, 75, was on trial for almost a month in Nogales, a city bordering Mexico. The rancher was accused of unpremeditated homicide for the death of Cuen Buitimea just outside Nogales, Arizona.
Cuen Buitimea lived south of the border, in Nogales, Mexico. He was part of a group of men who Kelly found that day on his cattle ranch. Cuen Buitimea’s two adult daughters and Mexican consular officials met with prosecutors last week to learn about the implications of a mistrial.
The Mexican consulate in Nogales, Arizona, said that would issue a statement later Monday.
The Prosecutor’s Office had said that Kelly recklessly fired his AK-47 rifle at a group of men who were about 90 meters inside his ranch, among whom was Cuen Buitimea. Kelly said he fired warning shots into the air, But he didn’t target anyone in particular..
The trial coincided with a presidential election year that has sparked widespread interest in border security. During the trial, court officials took jurors to Kelly’s ranch and to a stretch of the border between the United States and Mexico.
Kelly had previously rejected a plea deal with the prosecutor’s office a reduced charge of negligent homicide.
Kelly was also charged with aggravated assault. against another man who was in the groupwhich was made up of about eight people.
