An Arizona rancher who fatally shot a Mexican migrant with an AK-47 as the man crossed his land cannot be re-tried on murder charges following his April mistrial, a judge has ruled.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink agreed with attorneys representing 75-year-old George Alan Kelly — in part because of Kelly’s advanced age, failing health and continuing “senility and memory loss,” according to the Arizona Republic.
“A re-filing of these charges at a future date would place the defense at a significant disadvantage,” Fink wrote in his order, adding that too much time had passed for retrial anyway.
Kelly allegedly shot and killed Gabriel Cuen Buitimea in January 2023 as Buitimea and another man, Daniel Ramirez, were fleeing from US Border Patrol agents.
Kelly shot at them nine times with his assault rifle, prosecutors said.
He was charged with second-degree murder and another count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Both migrants were in the country illegally and looking for work in an attempt to escape poverty, according to the newspaper.