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The Arizona rancher who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Mexican migrant on his property claims that a group of migrants shot at him first.
The attorney for George Allen Kelly said in court documents that the 73-year-old fired his rifle in self-defense after hearing a single gunshot from “a group of men moving through the trees around his home" on January 30.
Attorney Brenna Larkin said that the men confronted Kelly at his ranch. "They were armed with AK-47 rifles, dressed in khakis and camouflaged clothing and carrying large bakcpacks. None of them were known to him. He had not given any of them permission to come onto his land," she wrote.
“Mr. Kelly, fearing for his life and safety, fired several shots from his rifle, hoping to scare them away from him, his wife, his animals, and his home,” Larkin continued. “As he shot, Mr. Kelly took care to aim well over the heads of the armed group of men.”
Some time later, Kelly found the unarmed body of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, who was identified by a Mexican voting card found by law enforcement authorities. Investigators said that the victim had a visible gunshot wound. --->READ and WATCH MORE HERE
Why the rancher should be freed - and the murder charge dropped
A 73-year-old Arizona cattle rancher, George Alan Kelly, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing an illegal immigrant from Mexico who trespassed on the rancher’s private property. The alleged killing took place on January 30th. Mr. Kelly is in jail, unable to make the bail that was set at an outrageous $1 million. And so began Mr. Kelly’s experience with Kafkaesque injustice. Rather than receive government protection against repeated instances of trespassing and harassment by illegal immigrants, Mr. Kelly has been charged with murder and jailed for standing his ground on his own property.
Mr. Kelly’s ranch is located about 1.5 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The slain Mexican, Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, 48, had been previously deported multiple times for illegally entering the United States, as reported by the Daily Mail. Instead of staying in Mexico where he belonged, Mr. Cuen-Butimea entered the U.S. illegally once again. But he was not deported this time. Instead, he met his maker after being shot on Mr. Kelly’s property.
The charge of first-degree murder against Mr. Kelly is a gross abuse of power. He should be freed immediately and the murder charge should be withdrawn. First-degree murder involves taking another person’s life intentionally and with premeditation. The only premeditation here was Cuen-Butimea’s commission of the crime of knowingly entering the United States illegally and then unlawfully trespassing on Mr. Kelly’s private property. Mr. Kelly is being persecuted for defending himself, his wife, and his private property with the amount of force he deemed reasonably necessary under the circumstances.
Mr. Kelly claimed that he was at his own ranch earlier in the day on January 30th, according to his attorney, when he “saw a group of men moving through the trees around his home” who were “armed with AK-47 rifles, dressed in khakis and camouflaged clothing, and carrying large backpacks.”
Mr. Kelly, his attorney stated, saw an AK-47 pointed right at him and reacted by firing warning shots from his rifle “hoping to scare them away from him, his wife, his animals, and his home. As he shot, Mr. Kelly took care to aim well over the heads of the armed group of men.” Mr. Kelly denied firing directly at anybody.
Mr. Kelly’s attorney went on to state that later in the day on January 30th the rancher found a dead body in the grass while he was checking on a horse and reported what he had found to the authorities. The attorney added that further investigation did not find that the deceased himself had any firearms or backpack on or about his person.
Santa Cruz County Chief Deputy Gerardo Castillo said that Mr. Kelly was arrested because “the investigation initially revealed that he had shot in the area.” That flimsy rationalization does not pass the smell test. --->READ MORE HERE
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