Arizona rancher charged with murder of migrant pleads not guilty

An Arizona rancher charged with murdering an undocumented migrant on his property pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Monday.

George Alan Kelly, 73, was charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot Mexican migrant Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, 48, near his home in Nogales on Jan. 30. His plea was heard Monday, during an arraignment for second-degree murder and aggravated assault charges. 

Prosecutors believe that Kelly fatally shot an “unarmed” man in the back “as he ran for his life” more than 100 yards from Kelly’s home. 

Kelly claims that he only fired warning shots into the air above the migrants after calling Border Patrol for backup, but did not shoot at him directly or any of the other members in his group, one of which allegedly “pointed an AK-47” at Kelly, according to court documents.

Initially, Border Patrol officers arrived at the scene and searched the property, without finding anything significant. Hours later, however, Kelly found Cuen-Butimea’s body on his land and called the police to report it. 

Kelly’s attorney, Brenna Larkin, suggested that a rival cartel might have shot Cuen-Butimea, instead of the Arizona rancher, since his property is along a popular drug and human smuggling route. 

The judge for the case, Judge Thomas Fink, set the trial for Sept. 6, after denying a request from Kelly’s defense attorney for a two-month continuance.

Kelly posted a $1 million bond on February 22 after a court appearance. The money for his bail was collected through a Christian crowdsourcing site, GiveSendGo.