Southwest
Arizona rancher says he stared down barrel of AK-47 when he fired warning shots 'over the trees'
Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly said men came towards his home with an AK-47 aimed at him the day he was arrested for murder.
“He turned towards me … pointed the AK at me. And that’s when — everybody says was the dumbest thing I ever did — they said you should have shot him because he was getting ready to shoot you,” Kelly told NewsNation.
Instead, he told the news outlet that he “shot over the tree, over the top of his head, and thank God him and the other guys ran.”
Later that day — Jan. 30, 2023 — he found a body and called the sheriff’s department. Responding officers accused Kelly of fatally shooting the victim, an illegal immigrant, and hauled him away in cuffs.
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George Alan Kelly enters court for his preliminary hearing in Nogales Justice Court in Nogales, Arizona, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool, File)
“He turned towards me … pointed the AK at me.”
His murder charge became the center of an already-contentious national debate about border security raging throughout the country, especially in states bordering Mexico.
“They accused me of shooting him,” Kelley told NewsNation in his first interview since he became a free man. “I said, ‘No, I didn’t shoot him.’ And they said, ‘Well, we think you did, and we’re arresting you for first-degree murder.’”
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The 75-year-old man spent 22 days in jail, which he said was the worst experience of his life. “If hell is anything like that, I’m gonna do everything I can not to go,” Kelly said.
Seven jurors wanted to acquit Kelly, but one “lone holdout” was unwavering in wanting to convict the elderly rancher despite the evidence and testimony, according to the rancher’s lawyer.
The judge declared the case a mistrial in April, and prosecutors said they won’t have a retrial.
George Alan Kelly exits the Santa Cruz County Courthouse with defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp in Nogales, Arizona, on March 22. (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International via AP, Pool)
“If hell is anything like that, I’m gonna do everything I can not to go.”
The victim was identified as Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, and prosecutors claimed he was unarmed.
But Kelly’s defense lawyers said prosecutors failed to prove Cuen-Buitimea was shot by Kelly’s gun. The forensics and the ballistics didn’t match Kelly’s gun, according to the defense.
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The fatal bullet was never recovered from the scene.
“I don’t feel that I was treated fairly in the investigation,” Kelly said. “I think I was arrested without cause, without probable cause.”
Judge Thomas Fink (right) walks out of the courtroom during proceedings in the trial of rancher George Kelly. (Fox News)
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Kelly said he feared for his wife’s safety and his own. The rancher’s wife, Wanda Kelly, testified during the trial that they were sitting on their patio when they saw armed men dressed in camouflage and carrying rifles and backpacks walking about 100 feet from their home.
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Dr. Ron Martinelli, a criminologist working pro bono for Kelly’s defense team, accused the prosecutors of “extreme confirmation bias.”
“Just imagine being on an isolated ranch in your 70s. You and your wife. And you are frequently seeing armed incursions on your ranch,” Martinelli told Fox News Digital in a previous interview.
“It’s a war. We try to fight this war in an ethical, moral and legal way of doing it. But we can’t be obstructed by a degraded criminal justice and law enforcement system. We can’t allow that to happen in the United States of America. We want to be a free country.”
Now that the trial is over, Kelly and his wife want to “start life over again,” but it’s difficult after a costly trial.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink listens to opening arguments in the trial of George Alan Kelly in Nogales, Arizona, on March 22. (Angela Gervasi/Nogales International via AP, Pool)
“We have no funds,” Kelly said. “Our life savings, it’s gone.”
Martinelli said Kelly used about $2 million in personal funding and funding from their legal defense fund on GiveSendGo, an online fundraiser set up by the rancher’s wife.
George said that’s enough to keep them afloat for now, but he doesn’t know for how long.
“That cloud’s still over my head,” Kelly said. “It’s a long road, and we’re not out of danger yet, but we’re not giving up. I’m not going to let them beat me down.”
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Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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