George Kelly's attorney takes deputies to task on ranch search
Members of law enforcement came under fire during the fourth day of testimony in George Alan Kelly's murder trial. George Alan Kelly, a Santa Cruz County rancher accused of murdering Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, has his defense team taking issue with law enforcement during the fourth day of testimony in his murder trial. The defense claimed that deputies failed to thoroughly search Kelly's property before Kelly reported finding the body of Buitimee later that day. Kelly is accused of fatally shooting Buitimaa on Jan. 30, 2023. Deputies who responded to Kelly's ranch that afternoon performed a cursory search, but Kelly's defense questioned if they could have found BuitIMEa's body before Kelly did later. Testimony from a neighboring rancher about Kelly's alleged story was kept from the jury as it was prejudicial to his character and occurred too long before this shooting.
Published : 4 weeks ago by J.D. Wallace in
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Law enforcement came under fire on the fourth day of testimony in the murder trial of George Alan Kelly.
The defense for the Santa Cruz County rancher accused of murder said deputies did not search Kelly’s property thoroughly before they left only for Kelly to then report finding the body of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea.
Kelly is accused of fatally shooting Buitimea on Jan. 30, 2023.
Deputies who responded to Kelly’s ranch that afternoon performed a cursory search, but Kelly’s defense questioned if they could have found Buitimea’s body before Kelly did later.
Kelly claims he heard a gunshot and saw a group of five men running across his property.
• None Arizona rancher accused of killing migrant to go to trial for murder
• None First day of testimony focuses on scene of fatal shooting
In the courtroom onThursday, Deputy David Monreal Fabian demonstrated how Kelly was holding his rifle in a non-threatening manner when they encountered him. Deputies had been looking for him when they arrived and had heard he pursued the men to the south.
But Kelly’s defense said the deputies’ lack of searching the property closer to the house and where the body was later found meant that the reported gunshot could have been the one that killed Buitimea and was fired by someone other than Kelly.
After Monreal, Deputy Cristobal Castaneda had to face similar scrutiny from the defense as they continued to show that Kelly was originally treated like a victim since he reported trespassers and gunfire on his ranch.
Testimony from a neighboring rancher that Kelly had told him two or three years earlier about firing a gun into the air to frighten off people from his ranch was kept away from the jury. The judge ruled it was prejudicial to Kelly’s character and occurred too long before this shooting.
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