CBS News
Prosecutors say they will not retry George Alan Kelly, Arizona rancher accused of murder near the US-Mexico border
Prosecutors said Monday they will not retry an Arizona rancher whose trial in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property ended last week with a deadlocked jury.
The jurors in the trial of George Alan Kelly were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a verdict after more than two days of deliberation. Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink declared a mistrial on April 22.
After the mistrial, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office had the option to retry Kelly — or to drop the case.
“Because of the unique circumstances and challenges surrounding this case, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office has decided not to seek a retrial,” Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley told Fink Monday.
Fink agreed to dismiss the case. He said a hearing would be scheduled later to determine if it would be dismissed with prejudice, which would mean it couldn’t be brought back to court.
Kelly’s defense attorney Brenna Larkin told the judge that she would file a request for the case to be dismissed with prejudice.
“We’re hoping we get the dismissal with prejudice, we’ll see how we go,” Larkin said Monday, according to CBS affiliate KOLD-TV. “I’m glad it’s over. We got the right result. I would have preferred a not guilty verdict and then this would be gone forever and then they would never have to worry about this.”
When a reporter from the Tucson TV station KGUN asked for Kelly’s reaction outside the courthouse, he said he felt “relief.”
“The nightmare’s over,” Kelly added, saying that the victim’s family “has my sincere sympathy.”
Kelly was trailed by protesters demonstrating on behalf of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, who was fatally shot on Jan. 30, 2023.
“Gabriel was a human being,” said one sign carried by protesters.
“Someone walking 100 yards away is not a threat,” read another, which called for a retrial.
“It’s not an issue for me about punishing Mr. Kelly. It’s about looking at the victim as a human being because at the trial really what happened was the man who was killed was put on trial,” said protestor Trayce Peterson, according to KOLD.
The 75-year-old Kelly had been on trial for nearly a month in Nogales, a city on the border with Mexico. The rancher had been charged with second-degree murder in the killing outside Nogales, Arizona.
Cuen-Buitimea had lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico. He was in a group of men that Kelly encountered that day on his cattle ranch. His two adult daughters, along with Mexican consular officials, met with prosecutors last week to learn about the implications of a mistrial.
The Mexican Consulate in Nogales, Arizona, said it would release a statement later.
Prosecutors had said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 rifle toward a group of men on his cattle ranch, including Cuen-Buitimea, about 100 yards away. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but argued he didn’t shoot directly at anyone.
The trial coincided with a presidential election year that has drawn widespread interest in border security. During it, court officials took jurors to Kelly’s ranch as well as a section of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Earlier, Kelly had rejected an agreement with prosecutors that would have reduced the charge to one count of negligent homicide if he pleaded guilty.
Kelly was also accused of aggravated assault of another person in the group of about eight people.
President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in state court remains on the books Monday, after a New York judge rejected an effort by Trump to have the case tossed based on a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Justice Juan Merchan found that a July Supreme Court ruling granting Trump presidential immunity for official acts did not preclude a jury from finding him guilty after a criminal trial this spring.
Merchan wrote that evidence shown at trial pertained “entirely to unofficial conduct.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
As unexplained drone sightings along the East Coast trigger investigations and demands from officials for more information, a wave of online speculation has filled the void as amateur sleuths seek to solve the mystery themselves.
One Facebook group called “New Jersey Mystery Drones – let’s solve it” has surged to over 73,000 members in recent days, becoming a hub for users to share their drone sightings and speculate on the source of the mysterious activity.
George Gary, a New Jersey resident who joined the Facebook group, told CBS News that he was sitting in his car in Moorestown when he saw what he said were “multiple drones” in the sky. “I’m honestly not sure what’s behind them,” he said, speculating that it could be connected to government activity. “I’m really curious to find out.”
New Jersey resident Vanessa Grierson, who also said she has seen drones, told CBS News she joined the Facebook group to find out what others were seeing. “It’s alarming that there are still no answers,” she said.
Across social media, users have shared theories that range from foreign interference to UFOs to hobbyist activity.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint statement last week saying there is “no evidence at this time” that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety, or have any foreign connection.
But state and local leaders have been pushing for more information and a stronger response.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Sunday he is urging federal authorities to allocate more resources to investigate the sightings, while New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that a drone detection system is being deployed in the state.
In some cases, people mistake planes for drones
The number of drones flying over the East Coast and the identity of those behind the activity remain unclear. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that the FBI has received about 5,000 tips of reported drone sightings in the last few weeks, “about 100 of which they felt needed to be followed up on.”
Authorities say many of the reported drone sightings could be aircraft or helicopters operating from the region’s numerous airports, as residents increasingly turn their attention to the skies in search of answers.
New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim said he went on patrol with police on Thursday night to find out more about the drones. In a lengthy X thread, Kim said he “concluded that most of the possible drone sightings that were pointed out to me were almost certainly planes.”
Kirby said many other reports were determined to be “a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones.”
In addition, unrelated videos have sparked confusion. On Friday, a video was widely shared and said to show a mysterious drone seemingly “shooting” at the ground. However, CBS News traced the footage to a military training exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
People have also shared old videos from different contexts. One widely shared clip, allegedly showing drones over New York, is at least four years old.
Officials respond
Rep. Mike Waltz, a Republican from Florida who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for national security adviser, said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that the lack of information highlights lapses in authority between local law enforcement and federal agencies like the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.
“I think Americans are finding it hard to believe we can’t figure out where these are coming from,” Waltz said. “It’s pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our ability to clamp down on what’s going on here. And we need to get to the bottom of it.”
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said there is a “growing sense of uncertainty and urgency across the state” despite statements from federal investigators assuring residents that the drones do not pose public safety threats.
“As such, I urge you to share any relevant information about these drone sightings with the public,” Booker said. “Without transparency, I believe that rumors, fear, and misinformation will continue to spread.”
Shooting down drones?
Some social media users have suggested that they plan to shoot down the drones if they veer too close to their homes. President-elect Trump also suggested shooting down the drones, though he did not clarify who should take such action.
However, shooting down a drone is a federal crime.
The Federal Aviation Administration classifies drones as aircraft, meaning damaging or destroying them is a violation of the Aircraft Sabotage Act.
Beyond legal risks, firing at drones poses a serious safety hazard and could lead to injuries.
Washington — President-elect Trump is meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Chew on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to sources familiar with the meeting.
The news was first reported by CNN.
A spokesperson for TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference earlier Monday, Trump had warm words about TikTok and its near-term future.
“We’ll take a look at TikTok. You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok, because I won youth by 34 points. And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that,” Trump said when asked about how he would stop a ban. Harris won 54% of voters under 30, but Trump made inroads.
During his first term in the White House, Trump tried to ban the app.
President Biden earlier this year signed into law a bill passed by Congress requiring TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, face a Jan. 19 deadline to cut ties or be banned in the U.S. The companies have tried to delay the deadline pending a Supreme Court review, but a federal appeals court, which upheld the law, denied the request last week. The companies asked the Supreme Court on Monday to temporarily pause the law.
“A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter — before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed,” the emergency application said.
The filing asked the Supreme Court to make a decision on the request by Jan. 6 so ByteDance and TikTok can “coordinate with their service providers to perform the complex task of shutting down the TikTok platform only in the United States” if the justices decline.
A 90-day extension could be granted if a sale is in process by the deadline. But TikTok has argued that a sale is unfeasible and the Chinese government opposes the sale of the algorithm which powers the app.
