One of the charges against Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly will be dismissed, according to News 4 Tucson.
Prosecutors are requesting the court to dismiss the aggravated assault charge against Kelly, but the second-degree murder charge will remain. Kelly stands accused of shooting and killing an undocumented migrant on his property in January.
Court documents show the state is unable to find one of its key witnesses and alleged victims, identified as witness RFG. Prosecutors say he was released by Border Patrol in February, and even with the assistance of the FBI, they have been unable to locate him.
Another witness, identified as D.R.R. during the February preliminary hearing, had served time in prison for smuggling cannabis across the Arizona-Mexican border in 2015. He accepted a plea agreement to misdemeanor possession of cannabis and served nearly seven months in prison.
Kelly’s trial on the second-degree murder charge is scheduled for Sept. 6, 2023 in Nogales, AZ.
