NOGALES, Ariz.—The public defender representing an elderly Arizona man accused of shooting and killing an illegal alien trespassing on his borderland property in January said the case has become “highly politicized” in the weeks following his arrest.
“This essentially lit a match over an incredibly intense political power keg and, predictably, there was an explosion,” said defense attorney Brenna Larkin at a bail reduction hearing for her client, George Alan Kelly, in Nogales, Arizona, on Feb. 22.
“This case has been highly publicized and politicized, and people have already prejudged the case very loudly on all sides.”
“The only thing that’s known about the case is the charges themselves.”
Kelly, 73, is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon involving three victims in the alleged premeditated shooting death of 43-year-old Mexican national Gabriel Cuen-Butimea.
He appeared in the locked down Nogales Justice Center where security was high and he wore an armored vest and red prison attire.
Kelly told authorities that he fired warning shots at a group of men dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with AK-47 rifles on his Santa Cruz County property on Jan. 30, then called the U.S. Border Patrol to report the incident.
Border Patrol agents and Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies searched Kelly’s property but found no men in the group.
Single Gunshot
The cause of death appeared to be a “single gunshot wound,” according to the defense motion.“The person had a radio and was wearing tactical boots, indicating that he was possibly involved in illegal activity.”
In the state’s motion opposing Kelly’s modified terms of release, prosecutors contend that Kelly shot at least eight rounds with an AK-47 at a group of men on his property.
His action came “without warning and unprovoked, while they fled for their lives, unarmed and unable to defend themselves.”
“He just started shooting at them,” according to the motion.
One witness in the group allegedly heard Cuen-Butimea call out in Spanish, “I’m hit.”
At the hearing on Feb. 22, Prosecutor Kimberly Hunley said the facts show that “Mr. Kelly shot an unarmed man [Cuen-Butimea] in the back in an unprovoked attack as he ran for his life.”
“At least two other witnesses were with the victim when they fled. They were also shot at. Luckily, they escaped with their lives.”
Larkin argued that Kelly, with no criminal record, reacted in self-defense when approached by “armed men who were on his property.”
She criticized prosecutors’ alleged rush to judgment, noting a “huge divergence in this case in how a prosecution investigation should happen.”
Larkin said prosecutors filed charges without the bullet that allegedly killed Cuen-Butimea.
Neither was there forensic or DNA evidence, autopsy results, or any other elements that go into a routine police investigation before finding charges of premeditated first-degree murder.
“Those are all facts that an investigation should determine. Those facts should be determined prior to charges being filed,” Larkin argued.
“The Alec Baldwin case comes to mind here,” she said. “This case was not handled in that manner, your honor. This case was charged first and investigated later.”
Larkin said the prosecution did not appear to have vetted witnesses or analyzed their statements.
There is a “large incentive structure,” she added, for witnesses to come forward in hopes of receiving immigration benefits. Or, they “succumb to pressure from traffickers in blaming this event on Mr. Kelly.”
“Testimony is bought and sold by drug traffickers, and people are bought and sold,” Larkin said.
It is “sending a message to anybody else who may be defending their property that if you defend your property against that, you will be arrested, and there will be witnesses to stand against you.”
Kelly reportedly has received threats since his arrest, and GoFundMe pages seeking to raise money for Kelly’s legal defense were shut down.
Kelly’s wife, Wanda, declined comment except to say she was “processing” the incident.
Justice of the Peace Emilio Velasquez agreed to reset Kelly’s $1 million cash bail at a $1 million surety bond, allowing Kelly to use his ranch property as collateral.
