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.
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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 (90 meters) away. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but argued he didn’t shoot directly at anyone.
Cause he was tried by a jury of his peers, half of whom think this is A-OK and to be encouraged.