Arizona rancher, 73, detained for border murder
A rancher who lives near Arizona’s border with Mexico is charged with first-degree murder in last week’s fatal shooting of a man tentatively identified as a Mexican citizen. His bail was set at $1 million.
George Alan Kelly, 73, was arrested last week in the murder, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office in Nogales, Arizona confirmed Monday.
Authorities believe the victim was 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, because of a Mexican voter card he was carrying.
The murder took place Jan. 30 in the Kino Springs area, just outside of Nogales, Ariz., Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Gerardo Castillo said. The address where the murder took place is the same one listed in the public records of Kelly’s cattle ranch.
Details of the shooting were sketchy and it was unclear if the two men had known each other before. Authorities have not given a reason.
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Kelly was being held in the Santa Cruz County Jail following his arraignment in county court last week. He is due back in court on Wednesday.
Local attorney Brenna Larkin, who was appointed by the court to represent Kelly, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the charge against him.
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