NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — The trial of a southern Arizona rancher charged with fatally shooting an unarmed migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border went to the jury Thursday.
Jurors did not immediately reach a verdict and will resume deliberations Friday morning.
In closing arguments earlier Thursday, lawyers debated the actions of 75-year-old George Alan Kelly, who is accused of second-degree murder in the January 30, 2023, shooting of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea.
Cuen-Buitimea, 48, lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. Court records show Cuen-Buitimea had previously entered the U.S. illegally several times and was deported, most recently in 2016
The case has attracted national attention as border security continues to be a top issue this election year and garnered sympathy for the rancher from some on the political right.
Cuen-Buitimea was in a group of men that Kelly encountered on his property. Prosecutor Mike Jette said Kelly recklessly fired an AK-47 rifle toward the group that was about 100 yards (90 meters) away.
Kelly said he fired warning shots in the air, but he didn’t shoot directly at anyone, explaining that he feared for his safety and that of his wife and property.
“He says he shot 100 yards over their heads. But he never told law enforcement that he was in fear of his life," Jette said in closing arguments.
Kelly fired nine shots toward the group, according to Jette, who said Cuen-Buitimea suffered three broken ribs and a severed aorta.
Jette encouraged jurors to find Kelly guilty of reckless manslaughter or negligent homicide if they can’t convict him on the murder charge.
Defense attorney Brenna Larkin, in her closing argument, said Kelly “was in a life or death situation” that was “a terrifying scenario” for him.
“He was confronted with a threat right outside his home,” Larkin said. “He would have been absolutely justified to use deadly force, but he did not."
She urged jurors to return a “not guilty” verdict, saying the state didn't prove its case.
The other migrants on Kelly's ranch in 2023 weren’t injured and managed to escape back to Mexico.
Larkin has characterized groups of migrants crossing through Kelly’s property as an increasing concern over the years, prompting him to arm himself for protection.
The trial that started March 22 included jurors visiting Kelly’s nearly 170-acre (69-hectare) cattle ranch in Nogales, Arizona.
Earlier in proceedings, Kelly rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.
Kelly was also charged with aggravated assault against another person in the group of about eight people, including a man from Honduras who was living in Mexico and who testified during the trial that he was seeking work in the U.S. that day.
This story has been corrected to show that Kelly fired nine shots toward a group that included Cuen-Buitimea, according to the prosecution, not that Cuen-Buitimea was shot nine times.
County Attorney Michael Jette addresses jurors during closing arguments in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in Nogales, Ariz. Rancher George Alan Kelly accused of second-degree murder in the January 2023 death of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, who lived south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International, via AP, Pool)
George Alan Kelly listens to closing arguments in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, Thursday, April 18, 2024 in Nogales, Ariz. Kelly was charged with second-degree murder in the January 2023 death of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, who lived south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International, via AP, Pool)
FILE - George Alan Kelly enters court for his preliminary hearing in Nogales Justice Court in Nogales, Ariz., Feb. 22, 2023. Jurors on the case of Arizona rancher Kelly charged with fatally shooting a migrant on his property will be allowed to visit the property near the border with Mexico as early as this week as the trial enters its second half. (Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool, File)
FILE - George Alan Kelly exits the Santa Cruz County Courthouse with defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp after the first day of his trial in Santa Cruz County Superior Court Friday, March 22, 2024 in Nogales, Ariz. Jurors in the case of the Arizona rancher Kelly charged with fatally shooting a migrant on his property visited the scene of the killing as the third week of the trial wrapped up. The jurors on Thursday, April 11, 2024, viewed various locations at Kelly's ranch, as well as a section of the U.S.-Mexico border. (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International, via AP, File)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says about 300 people were arrested in police crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and City College.
Adams, a Democrat who was formerly a police captain, insisted that while the people who entered Columbia’s Hamilton Hall included students, “It was led by individuals who were not affiliated with the university.”
“There is a movement to radicalize young people. And I’m not going to wait until it is done to acknowledge the existence of it,” Adams said Wednesday morning.
Currently:
— Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University while clashes break out at UCLA
— Student protesters reach a deal with Northwestern University that sparks criticism from all sides
— Trump’s comparison of student protests to Jan. 6 is part of effort to downplay Capitol attack
Here's the latest:
Police were removing an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus and have taken away several protesters.
Several police officers arrived at the encampment on the campus’ Library Mall around 7 a.m. Wednesday and played a recorded message on a loop saying it was a final warning and that protesters were in violation of university code, WISC-TV reported.
About 20 minutes later, nearly 60 police officers, some with riot shields, arrived and began removing tents and other items, the station reported.
Video from WISC-TV showed police with riot shields pushing against protesters and the protesters pushing back while chanting slogans, including “Free Free Palestine.” The station said that at least 10 protesters were taken away by police with their hands zip-tied by officers.
Police later removed some tents that had remained at the encampment, but about 30 protesters surrounded another tent to prevent officers from reaching it.
Campus leaders and police warned students last week to comply with state law and university rules, which prohibit unauthorized camping on campus. But on Monday, several hundred protesters gathered on the Mall, located between Memorial Library and the Wisconsin Historical Society, and established an encampment, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in an appearance on on “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday that police had identified organizations and individuals who weren’t university students, but professional agitators.
“Once I became aware of the outside agitators who were part of this operation, as Columbia mentioned in their letter and their request with the New York City Police Department, it was clear we had to take appropriate actions when our intelligence division identified those who were professionals, well trained,” Adams said.
Adams and the NYPD made similar claims before the arrests that the protest had been co-opted by outside agitators, though did not provide specific evidence to back up that contention. While people involved in the Columbia demonstrations acknowledge that some people not part of the college community have participated, they forcefully dispute the idea that outsiders were driving or unduly influencing the protests.
Adams pointed to protesters breaking into Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, saying some of the tactics and methods have been used across the globe.
“And we understood how really dangerous this situation had become,” Adams said, noting they made sure that a minimum amount of force was used to “eradicate the problem” at City University of New York and Columbia.
When there’s an analysis of those arrested, Adams said a substantial number of them won’t be City University of New York or Columbia students.
Adams said he understands the power of protests, but they have to make sure they don’t turn violent. Breaking into Hamilton Hall was not protesting, “that was committing a crime,” he said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday that police had to move in to Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall “for the safety of those children.”
He blamed outside agitators for the building takeover.
“There are people who are harmful and they’re trying to radicalize our children and we cannot ignore this,” Adams said.
The NYPD’s deputy commissioner for public information, Tarik Sheppard, who appeared with the mayor, held up a heavy chain.
“This is not what students bring to school,” Sheppard said. “This is what we encountered on every door inside Hamilton Hall.”
Sheppard said 40 to 50 people were arrested at Hamilton Hall with no injuries. Adams said they will face charges including burglary, trespassing and criminal mischief, while those who were arrested outside the building will be face less serious charges.
Six people have been arrested and suspensions have been issued to seven students who participated in demonstrations at Tulane University, the school in New Orleans said in a message to the university community early Wednesday. One more suspension was pending, officials said.
The university was also looking into reports of university employees participating in the demonstration.
“We value free speech and have supported numerous lawful demonstrations throughout this year,” the university said in the statement. “But we remain opposed to trespassing, hate speech, antisemitism and bias against religious or ethnic groups.”
Four buildings on campus would remain closed Wednesday as the demonstration continued, with classes scheduled in those buildings going remote, officials said.
When several dozen protesters camped in about a dozen small tents on a grassy area near an administration building Monday, police “moved in immediately to attempt to stop the encampment,” the administration said Tuesday. There were arrests and students were suspended after a confrontation with police Monday and the Students for a Democratic Society organization also was suspended, the university said.
Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another.
Hours earlier, police carrying riot shields burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school while inspiring others.
After a couple of hours of scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators at UCLA, police wearing helmets and face shields formed lines and slowly separated the groups. That appeared to quell the violence.
Police have swept through campuses across the U.S. over the last two weeks in response to protests calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza. There have been confrontations and more than 1,000 arrests. In rarer instances, university officials and protest leaders struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies.
Fireworks erupt as demonstrators clash at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA late Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Demonstrators clash at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
A person looks out as demonstrators clash at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Demonstrators clash at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Officers with the New York Police Department arrest pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Officers with the New York Police Department arrest Pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Officers with the New York Police Department raid the encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Officers with the New York Police Department raid the encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide. (Marco Postigo Storel via AP)
Pro-Palestianian protesters gather near a main gate at Columbia University in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, just before New York City police officers cleared the area after a building was taken over by protesters earlier in the day. The building and a tent encampment were cleared during the operation. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
