‘Significant Change’ in Charge Against Arizona Rancher Accused of Killing Illegal Alien

A 73-year-old rancher accused of killing an illegal immigrant on his property was reduced from the first degree to the second degree.

George Alan Kelly has been charged after a Mexican citizen was found shot dead at his ranch in Arizona last month. The property is located about a mile and a half from the Mexican border.

Fox News reported that the charge was changed Friday in a Santa Cruz County court.

Brenna Larkin, Kelly’s court-appointed attorney, pleaded not guilty on behalf of her client.

Larkin addressed the decision to reduce the charge.

“This is a significant change in the charge,” she said. “Murder in the second degree is, frankly, a more difficult version of the case for both the state and the defense.”

Kelly was released on $1 million bail this week. He received the money through donations to Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo.

Larkin said in court documents that Kelly feared for his life as several gunmen passed through his property on January 30. The lawyer also said that Kelly heard the shot, according to KSAZ-TV.

“The leader of the armed group of men saw Mr. Kelly and pointed an AK-47 right at him,” Larkin wrote.

“Mr. Kelly, fearing for his life and safety, fired several shots from his rifle, hoping to scare them away from him, his wife, his animals and his home.

“When he fired, Mr. Kelly made sure to aim over the heads of the armed group of people. The group then ran into the desert surrounding his house.”

She added that none of the men on the ranch knew Kelly and that “he did not give any of them permission to enter his land.”

Larkin said that later that day, Kelly found the body of a man who was identified as Gabriel Kuen-Butimea.

Kuen-Butimeya»[had] he had a radio with him and was wearing tactical boots, which indicated that he may have been involved in illegal activities,” Larkin said.

“He does not believe that any of his warning shots could hit a person or cause death,” she said.

“All the shooting that Mr. Kelly did that day of the incident was in self-defense and justified.”