Cattle rancher faces slay rap ‘Shot’ Mexican on ranch

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An Arizona cattle rancher has been charged with first-degree murder and his bail set at $1 million after he allegedly killed a Mexican national, who was likely in the country illegally, on his ranch just 150 feet from the US border.

George Alan Kelly, 73, is accused in the Jan. 30 killing of Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, 48, on his property just outside Nogales, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff ’s Office said.

Officials believe Cuen-Butimea was a Mexican citizen because of a voter-registration card he carried. He was living at the time in Nogales, Mexico — separated by the border from the Arizona town by the same name.

Cuen-Butimea had a history of illegally crossing the border and had been deported back to Mexico multiple times, most recently in 2016, according to federal documents obtained by the Daily Mail.

Once someone has been deported, the US government bars them from reentering the country for five or 10 years, and repeat offenders are banned for longer or permanently.

Hours before the fatal shooting, authorities received a call from someone in the area who identified themselves as “Allen” and said there was a “possible active shooter,” Nogales International reported.

The caller told Border Patrol officials there was a “group of people running” and said he “was unsure if he was getting shot at as well.”

Authorities later responded to another report of shots fired from the property and discovered the body of a deceased adult Hispanic male, Chief Deputy Gerardo Castillo told the outlet. “It doesn’t seem like Mr. Kelly and the decedent knew each other,” he said.

Authorities have not provided much information about the killing, including a possible motive.

Kelly asked a judge at his hearing to reduce his $1 million bail so he could return to his wife, saying she could not take care of their ranch.

“She’s there by herself . . . nobody to take care of her, the livestock or the ranch,” he said, according to the outlet.

A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, told KOLD News 13 that they knew the alleged shooter personally and considered him a friend.

The friend said Kelly previously had issues with people on his property.