Free Republic

A verdict is due imminently in the case of George Alan Kelly, a 75-year-old Arizona rancher accused of fatally shooting an unarmed migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexican border in January 2023. Illegal migration has surged over the past couple of years, particularly after the end of coronavirus era restrictions. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures there were 9.8 million encounters between law enforcement and irregular migrants between October 2019 and January 2024, a figure nearly equal to the population of Michigan. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has claimed irregular immigration has created a "bloodbath"...

Excerpt: Kelly had earlier rejected a plea deal that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty. His case has garnered the sympathy of some on the political right, with several efforts raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his defense, including several on the GoFundMe platform that were quickly shut down because of the charges against him.

On January 30, 2023, Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, 75, was arrested and charged with the murder of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea. Cuen-Buitimea was crossing the border from his hometown of Nogales, Mexico, with a group of seven other illegal immigrants donning camouflage attire and rifles. One of the illegal immigrants said the squad of armed men crossed the border into the United States to look for work but scattered after seeing Border Patrol agents. Shortly thereafter, Kelly became aware of the group. He was making lunch when he heard a single gunshot and then noticed five of the men crossing through...

An Arizona rancher has been charged with first-degree murder and had his bail set at a whopping $1million for fatally shooting a Mexican citizen on his property. George Alan Kelly, 73, was arrested following the January 30 fatal shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, 48, on his ranch in Kino Springs, just a mile and a half north of the US-Mexico border. Authorities are still investigating the fatal shooting, with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's chief deputy saying it does not appear that Kelly knew Cuen-Butimea ahead of the shooting.