Judge declares mistrial in case of Arizona rancher accused of fatal migrant shooting
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A criminal case accusing an Arizona rancher of fatally shooting a Mexican man last year has ended in a mistrial — for now.
Santa Cruz County Prosecutors argue George Alan Kelly shot his AK-47 nine times at two people on January 30, 2023. They say one of those bullets killed Gabriel Cuen Buitimea — a 48-year-old Mexican national from across the border in Nogales, Sonora. Buitimea was thought to have been crossing Kelly’s Kino Springs property near the U.S.-Mexico border that day with other migrants.
Kelly’s defense argues he shot warning shots into the air that day, but didn't aim at or hit anyone. During the monthlong trial, jurors visited the site on Kelly's 170-acre ranch where Buitimea's body was found, and heard hours of testimony — including from Daniel Ramirez, a Honduran man who testified to being with Buitimea when we was shot.
Jurors began deliberating Thursday afternoon and by Friday afternoon, they said they'd reached an impasse. Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink asked them to continue working toward a verdict but, by Monday afternoon, jurors said they were deadlocked and could not reach a consensus.
"The records show the absence of the jurors," Fink said after hearing from jurors. "Based upon the jury’s inability to reach a verdict on any court, the court orders a mistrial."
Prosecutors must now decide whether to pursue a new case against Kelly. Santa Cruz County Chief Deputy Attorney Kim Hunley said she could not comment on the case or how her office would proceed.
Kelly faced charges including second degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Kathy Lowthorp, one of the attorneys who represented Kelly at the trial, said she would be his lawyer again if the case went to another trial, but they hoped not to back to court.
"It is what is is," Kelly said after the trial. "I'm going to keep fighting."
Ramirez and family members of Buitimea, including his two daughters, were accompanied into the courtroom after the trial Monday by Marcos Moreno Báez, consul general of Mexico in Nogales. In a statement released later that day, Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would be watching to see the next steps from the prosecutor's office "to guarantee that the murder of a Mexican national does not go unpunished, and to ensure due process in order to provide justice to the victims of the case."
Santa Cruz County Prosecutors have 60 days to decide whether to move forward with another trial. A status conference is scheduled for next Monday.
Angela Gervasi has been covering the trial for the Nogales International. She joined The Show to discuss what happened.
