AZ Rancher Accused of Murder Claims He Fired Warning Shots, Lawyer Says
Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, 73, appeared in Santa Cruz County court wearing an orange jump suit with handcuffs and shackles to hear charges against him of first-degree murder. During the proceeding, the judge named Brenna Larkin as Kelly’s court-appointed lawyer.
On Friday, Larkin filed court documents asking for Kelly’s $1 million bond to be reduced or eliminated. She wrote that Kelly “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."
The "leader" of the alleged armed group saw Kelly and "pointed an AK-47 right at him," the filing states.
"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. As he shot, Mr. Kelly took care to aim well over the heads of the armed group of men," Larkin wrote in the filing.
She said Kelly then called the United States Border Patrol Ranch Liaison and reported the incident, telling the official that "he heard a single shot, and that the men he had seen were armed." Larkin alleges the liaison "incorrectly" reported that Kelly stated he couldn't tell if the men "were armed or not," adding that the radio dispatch "correctly reported that armed men had been seen in the area."
Later on Jan. 30, while Kelly was checking on his horse, he found a body lying in the grass, then reported the findings to law enforcement, the filing states. The Mexican national, later identified as 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, did not have any firearms or a backpack, and authorities said the "cause of death appeared to be a single gunshot wound."
However, Kelly denied to law enforcement that he fired directly at "any person" and "does not believe that any of his warning shots could have possibly hit the person or cause the death," the court document states.
