An Arizona judge declared a mistrial Monday in the case of a rancher accused of fatally shooting a Mexican man on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border. The decision came after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision after more than two full days of deliberation in trial of George Alan Kelly, 75, who was charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 30, 2023, shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea.
"Based upon the jury's inability to reach a verdict on any count," Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said, "This case is in mistrial."
The Santa Cruz County Attorney's Office can still decide whether to retry Kelly for any charge, or drop the case all together.
A status hearing was scheduled for next Monday afternoon, when prosecutors could inform the judge if they plan to refile the case. Prosecutors did not immediately respond to emailed requests for additional comment.
Kelly was charged with second-degree murder in killing of Cuen-Buitimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico.
Prosecutors accused Kelly of firing nine shots from an AK-47 rifle towards a group of men, including Cuen-Buitimea, approximately 100 yards away on his cattle ranch. Kelly's court-appointed attorney argued that he had fired "warning shots."
"He does not believe that any of his warning shots could have possibly hit the person or caused the death," she said at the time. "All the shooting that Mr. Kelly did on the date of the incident was in self-defense and justified."
Court officials took jurors to Kelly's ranch as well as a section of the border. Fink denied news media requests to tag along.
After Monday's ruling, Consul General Marcos Moreno Baez of the Mexican consulate in Nogales, Arizona, said he would wait with Cuen-Buitimea's two adult daughters on Monday evening to meet with prosecutors from Santa Cruz County Attorney's Office to learn about the implications of a mistrial.
"Mexico will continue to follow the case and continue to accompany the family, which wants justice." said Moreno. "We hope for a very fair outcome."
Kelly's defense attorney Brenna Larkin did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after the ruling was issued. Larkin had asked Fink to have jurors keep deliberating another day.
Kelly had earlier rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.
On that fateful day, Kelly faced charges of aggravated assault against another individual in a group of about eight people. Among them was a man from Honduras, residing in Mexico, who had ventured into the U.S. in search of employment.
Fortunately, the rest of the migrants emerged unscathed and safely returned to Mexico.
Cuen-Buitimea resided just a stone's throw away from the border in Nogales, Mexico. His history included multiple illegal entries into the U.S., culminating in deportation, with the most recent instance dating back to 2016, as per court records.
A local resident, Maria Castillo, shared with CBS News affiliate KOLD in February 2023 that sightings of border crossers in the vicinity were not uncommon, though they had never posed a problem.
"I pass through this area daily," Castillo remarked. "Whether it's late or early, I have never encountered anyone. I feel completely safe living here."
During the nearly month-long trial, which coincided with a presidential election year sparking heightened interest in border security, Fink advised jurors to consider a unanimous decision on a lesser charge if they were unable to reach a verdict on the second-degree murder charge. A second-degree murder conviction would have mandated a minimum prison term of 10 years.
The jury received the case on a Thursday afternoon, deliberated briefly that day, and continued their discussions throughout Friday and Monday.
