NOGALES, Ariz.—Lawyers for George Alan Kelly, the Arizona rancher accused of gunning down an illegal immigrant, pressed a ballistics expert on what the government “can’t prove” with available physical evidence.
On cross-examination, forensic scientist Richard Wyant conceded that the evidence does not directly connect Mr. Kelly to the firearm that caused the fatal shot.
The state’s evidence also can’t identify the exact type of firearm used without a bullet to match the weapon, he said.
The prosecution witness said the evidence also does not show the precise caliber of bullet that caused the fatal wound. Nor does it determine the exact flight path of the projectile.
Mr. Wyant said the evidence does show that the lethal shot likely came from an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle similar to the one that Mr. Kelly owns.
He said the shot likely came from a distance of 100 yards in the patio area of the defendant’s ranch house.
Mr. Kelly, 75, is charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, a Mexican citizen, on Jan. 30, 2023.
On the fifth day of the trial, Mr. Wyant told the jury that his role as a prosecution witness was in test firing Mr. Kelly’s AK-47 and examining the evidence taken at the crime scene to determine a “possible shooter location and the trajectory of the bullet.”
“All the evidence I looked at is consistent with the shooter standing on that porch ... the shot could have come from that porch,” he testified on March 29 in the Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
“There is no ballistic evidence that suggested another firearm” was used in the shooting, Mr. Wyant said.
He is a senior forensic scientist at WD Forensic Inc. in Seattle specializing in firearms, tool mark identification, and “less lethal weapons,” with 28 years working at accredited state labs.
On July 7, 2023, Mr. Wyant said he test-fired 15 rounds from Mr. Kelly’s AK-47 at a distance of 100 yards and found the weapon to be in proper working order.
The firearm is a standard battlefield rifle designed to fire a 7.62-by-39-millimeter “military cartridge.” Its effective lethal range in one case was 796 yards, or roughly eight football fields, he said.
Law enforcement recovered Mr. Cuen-Buitimea’s body with a single gunshot wound from about 115 yards from Mr. Kelly’s ranch house. An autopsy showed that the bullet had entered through the victim’s back and exited from his chest.
Investigators recovered the victim lying face down in tall grass, wearing tan clothing and carrying a forest-pattern backpack, fanny pack, cellphone, and walkie-talkie.
Mr. Wyant said the ammunition he used to test-fire Mr. Kelly’s AK-47 was the same Wolf-marked brand on nine shell casings that law enforcement recovered from Mr. Kelly’s patio.
On examining autopsy photos, Mr. Wyant said it appeared the irregularly shaped entrance wound in the victim’s back and jacket indicated the shot came from a distance.
With a shot made from a short distance, “you would expect to see a circular entrance where this is more oval,” he said.
“I’m looking for a clean, circular hole,” Mr. Wyant said.
Such a wound likely came from a bullet moving in a tumbling or “yawing” pattern trajectory, meaning that it was not “flying straight,” he testified during questioning by prosecutor Michael Jetty.
“Your opinion is this entry wound is from a bullet in yaw,” Mr. Jetty asked.
Mr. Wyant responded, “In my opinion, that’s what I think is occurring here.”
The ballistics expert said he also examined scanned images of the property that showed mesquite trees and other “intervening objects” in the purported line of fire.
A bullet striking any one of these objects could have produced the yawing effect and altered the trajectory, he said.
“It’s my opinion this was a direct fire shot and not a falling bullet,” Mr. Wyant testified.
Mr. Kelly told investigators that he fired warning shots over the heads of at least five illegal immigrants who he believed were drug “mules” working for the cartels.
Through his living room window, he said, he could see the men walking along the southern perimeter of his 100-acre property carrying large backpacks and possibly armed. He said he then heard a single gunshot, and the men began running back toward the southern border wall.
Mr. Wyant testified that a forensic examination of the victim’s clothing found no evidence of gun power residue, indicating that the shot came from a distance.
“In my opinion, it was a distance shot from a rifle,” he said. “The wound is consistent with a rifle round.”
He said investigators also retrieved a broken tree branch within the line of fire that could have been caused by a bullet.
However, the branch did not test positive for heavy metal residue that would indicate being struck by a bullet, according to Mr. Wyant.
“So, there is no evidence a bullet hit this tree and broke this branch?” Mr. Kelly’s defense attorney, Brenna Larkin, asked the witness.
Mr. Wyant said, “That would be correct.”
Mr. Wyant testified that he did not visit the crime scene. Instead, he based many of his conclusions on a review of the state’s evidence photos.
The distribution pattern of the shell casings suggested an “approximate” location of the shooter, he said.
However, investigators were unable to recover a bullet at the crime scene.
“I would anticipate the bullet is intact, wherever it is,” Mr. Wyant testified.
He also testified that gun residue typically shows up within six feet after firing a weapon at close range.
Ms. Larkin suggested that the evidence does not show conclusively how far away the shooter was from the victim.
Mr. Wyant responded, “Yes. That’s true.”
On further cross-examination of the witness, Mr. Jetty said there is no way to achieve absolute certainty in the case, but there is other evidence in support of the state’s position that Mr. Kelly fired the AK-47 that killed Mr. Cuen-Buitimea.
The trial is set to continue on April 2, followed by closing arguments on April 19.
