A rancher who lives near the border between Arizona and Mexico is being held on a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man who may have been from Mexico last week. The judge set his bail at $1 million.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office in Nogales, Arizona, confirmed on Monday that George Alan Kelly, 73, was arrested last week in the killing. Authorities think the victim was 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, who lived in Nogales, Mexico, just south of the border because he was carrying a Mexican voter registration card.
Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Gerardo Castillo said the killing occurred on January 30 in the Kino Springs area, just outside of Nogales, Arizona. Public records show that Kelly’s cattle ranch is at the same address where the murder took place.
Not much was known about the shooting, nor if the two men knew each other before. The authorities have given no reason.
After his arraignment in the county’s Justice Court last week, Kelly was being held at the Santa Cruz County Jail. He will go back to court on Wednesday.
A local lawyer named by the court to represent Kelly, Brenna Larkin, did not answer the phone immediately when asked about the charge against him.
The complete information regarding this incident publishes on apnews.com.