(ProsperNews.net) – An Arizona Judge has dismissed charges against a rancher accused of shooting a migrant on his property. George Alan Kelly faced murder charges after shooting Mexican national Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea last January as he made his way through Kelly’s 170-acre cattle ranch near the US-Mexico border. Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink dismissed the charges with prejudice, meaning they cannot be re-filed. In April, a jury could not reach a decision in Kelly’s initial trial, and a mistrial was declared.
In his ruling, Judge Fink said filing fresh charges would likely produce the same result, or more likely, an acquittal. He furthermore noted that the only witness to the incident, Daniel Ramirez, was an illegal immigrant who may not “even be around for another trial.”
Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Kelly had changed his story several times, and his credibility was in doubt. The rancher initially told police he spotted five migrants on his land, whom he believed were armed. He also said he fired warning shots, but prosecutors said there was no evidence for either assertion.
Arizona is one of America’s illegal immigration hotspots, and officials say hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of immigrants cross the Tucson sector every day. In the first four months of 2024, more than 250,000 people entered the US via this sector, while numbers dropped in Texas and San Diego.
Volunteer groups in the area offer food and medical assistance to the migrants, attracting fierce criticism and accusations that they facilitate law-breaking and put lives in danger.
Data shows that most migrants entering the Grand Canyon State are Mexican, but growing numbers are arriving from Guatemala (4%) and far-flung nations, including India (3%), the Philippines (2%), and China (1%). Statistics furthermore show that the percentage of Americans who consider immigration the most important topic in politics is growing.
Donald Trump, who leads several polls, has promised to conduct the largest deportation in American history and remove millions of migrants from the US.
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