Attorney: Rancher charged with murder acted in self-defense

A court filing by the attorney representing a Nogales area rancher charged with the premeditated murder of a Mexican man found shot to death on his ranch offered additional details about the grim discovery, claiming the rancher had fired warning shots in self-defense earlier in the day in response to an incursion by several armed men onto his ranch.

George Alan Kelly, 75, remains jailed at the Santa Cruz County Adult Detention Center on a $1 million bond. He is set to return to court Feb. 22 for a preliminary hearing.

His attorney, Brenna Larkin, filed a motion asking a judge to lower Kelly’s bond and to release him, claiming the amount “is clearly excessive and appears to be designated to keep defendant in custody while he fights to maintain his innocence,” the motion reads.

On Jan. 30, Kelly was having lunch with his wife at his ranch home in Kino Springs, east of Nogales, when he heard a single gunshot, according to the 13page document Larkin filed Feb. 9. Kelly saw his horse run away scared and spotted several men outside his home.

“They were armed with AK-47 rifles, dressed in khakis and camouflaged clothing, and carrying large backpacks,” the motion reads.

After calling the U.S. Border Patrol’s ranch liaison, who is responsible for aiding border area ranchers, to summon help, Kelly stepped out onto his porch with his rifle and fired several warning shots over the heads of the armed men to scare them off, according to the motion. The men scrambled away.

Border Patrol agents and Santa Cruz County sheriff ’s deputies arrived at his ranch minutes later, but they were unable to find any people in the vicinity. They documented the incident and took off.

It wasn’t until a few hours later, around sunset, when Kelly was checking up on his horse that one of his dogs spotted something on the ground. As he approached, he saw a man’s body lying face down in the grass, according to the motion. Kelly again called the Border Patrol ranch liaison to report the body.

The remains belonged to Gabriel Cuen Buitimea, 48, of Nogales, Sonora. He was identified because he carried a Mexican voter registration card. Larkin’s motion said Cuen Buitimea also carried a radio and was wearing tactical boots.

Deputies arrested Kelly and seized two rifles from his home to determine if they had been used in the shooting. But Larkin argued that the evidence available so far against Kelly to charge him with first-degree murder is extremely weak, noting that deputies and agents had failed to find the body when they initially showed up.

“No bullet has been found in order to do testing to determine which gun fired the fatal shot,” the motion reads. “It is entirely possible that the person found on Mr. Kelly’s property was a victim of other drug traffickers.”

Kelly’s home is about a mile and a half north of the Arizona-Mexico border and approximately eight miles east of Nogales. Larkin noted that illegal activity is not uncommon in the area but said Kelly’s actions in firing warning shots had been justified.

Larkin added that Kelly had received threats from other inmates and had to be put in protective custody and 23hour lockdown.

“If Mr. Kelly were to be released to (his wife’s) custody or on his own recognizance, he will readily and willingly comply with the terms and conditions of his release ... because he knows that both his liberty and his ability to care for his wife, animals and ranch depend on it,” Larkin said.

Kelly and his wife began ranching in Arizona in 1997. They bought the ranch at Kino Springs in 2002, according to the motion.