An Arizona rancher is scheduled to go to trial on Thursday for murder charges in the shooting death of a Mexican national found on the rancher’s border property.
The rancher, George Kelly, called 911 multiple times on the day in January 2023 to report seeing armed men on his land.
He claims he fired warning shots when one pointed an AK-47 at him, and later found the victim’s body.
Kelly rejected a plea deal. Prosecutors argue Kelly recklessly fired towards a group of unarmed migrants.
The defense says authorities rushed charges for political reasons and rely on witnesses who may be incentivized.
“There’s a very large incentive structure for people to come forward and to have claimed to have been witnesses. People can possibly obtain immigration benefits for doing so, or at least have the expectation of that, and people can succumb to pressure from traffickers who have an interest in blaming this event on Mr. Kelly,” defense attorney Brenna Larkin said.
“Testimony is something that is bought and sold by drug traffickers the same way that drugs and people are bought and sold,” she added.
“It is a valuable commodity, and it is used by these traffickers to obtain what they want. In this case, the benefit they’re getting is security for their smuggling route through Mr. Kelly’s property, and they’re sending a message to anybody else defending his or her own property that if you defend your property against us, you will be arrested and there will be witnesses who come to stand against you.”
They also argue the victim had multiple deportations, calling testimony’s credibility into question.
Jury selection begins Thursday in what is expected to be a three-week trial over the rancher’s conduct and claims of self-defense on his border property.
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