Prosecutors will not retry Arizona rancher accused of killing Mexican national

Arizona prosecutors on Monday announced that they would not seek a retrial in the shooting of a Mexican national, after a judge declared a mistrial in the case over a locked jury.

A judge declared the mistrial against George Alan Kelly last week, after the jury failed to secure a unanimous verdict over whether Kelly was responsible for the death of Gabriel Cuen-Baltimea, who was found fatally shot on Kelly’s ranch near the southern border on Jan. 30, 2023. Kelly had been accused of second-degree murder.

Prosecutors with the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office were allowed to do a retrial of Kelly, but have decided against it after the trial took one month, and jurors debated the case for two days.

"Because of the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding this case, the Santa Cruz County Attorney's Office has decided not to seek a retrial," prosecutor Kim Hunley said during a status hearing in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, according to Tuscon.com.

The case centered on allegations that Kelly acted with reckless disregard for human life when firing nine rounds at two unarmed people who were on his property. Kelly and his defense team claimed he fired the rounds above the pair's heads, and that he was protecting his wife and his property. 

He was charged with second-degree murder for Baltimea, and aggravated assault against the other migrant named Daniel Ramirez. Prosecutors had instructed the jury at the time that they could still find Kelly guilty of a lower charge such as manslaughter, aggravated assault, and negligent homicide, if they did not think his actions constituted second-degree murder.

Kelly has maintained his innocence ever since he was charged last year, and even rejected a plea deal that would have reduced the charges to one count of negligent homicide in exchange for pleading guilty.