Jurors got a first hand look at George Alan Kellys assault rifle as his murder trial continues. The Santa Cruz County rancher is charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of a Mexican National crossing his land.
Day three of testimony has been heavy on Kellys contacts with law enforcement on the day of the shooting. Just before jurors broke for lunch, they had a firsthand look at what prosecutors regard as the murder weapon.
Up to this point jurors had only seen photos of the AK-47 assault rifle Kelly carried as he patrolled his ranch. Prosecutors say he fired this gun in the direction of two border crossers, and hit and killed Gabriel Cuen Buitimea.
No bullet was ever recovered for a potential match to Kellys gun.
The bullet had enough power to hit the victim in the back, go out the front of his chest and be lost in the landscape.
Deputy David Monreal was still a deputy-in-training when he and his training officer answered an emergency call to George Alan Kellys ranch. Kelly had reported drug smugglers crossing his land, and the sound of a gunshot.
<b>Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Deputy David Monreal</b>: He didnt know if the reason why they were running and the shots were fired was if there were rival cartel members [that] had a conflict between each other.” <b>Prosecutor Kim Hunley</b>: “Have you ever seen that happen in Kino Springs?” <b>Monreal</b>: No.
The deputies joined with Border Patrol Agents to search around Kellys house and make sure any danger was gone. They did not find the body of the dead man.
Later Kelly reported the body more than a hundred yards from his house. Prosecutors say Kelly had stood behind his house and fired at least nine shots in the direction of Cuen Buitimea and another man, but did not tell Sheriffs detectives he fired his gun until almost 10 hours after he called to report trouble on his ranch.
PREVIOUS TRIAL COVERAGE:
Ranchers murder trial: Border crosser describes shooting Ranchers lawyers push idea someone else killed man on his landThursday’s testimony will continue into the afternoon. KGUN 9 will update this story with any further developments.