The trial of Arizona man George Alan Kelly, accused of murdering an illegal immigrant on his ranch near the U.S.-Mexico border, is set to conclude on April 18 with closing arguments. The prosecution alleges that Kelly shot and killed Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, but the defense argues that the evidence is circumstantial. The jury will begin deliberating after the closing arguments. Kelly’s name—I said we have a situation where there’s a rancher that shot at two migrants and killed one of them, and the other one got away. I did mention that incident, but I didn’t say George Kelly’s name in that interview.”
Mr. Larkin then asked, “Did you say that he just ‘wanted to go hunt him some Mexicans’?”
“No. After that comment, I did segue into a collective pronoun, the word ‘they,’ that there is a type that they want to go hunt themselves some Mexicans. That they want to have the mystique of the old west—the border, get some excitement. There are individuals that do that. There’s one called ‘Take The Border Back’ that just came in not too long ago—a bunch of armed individuals. I told Big Super that this was rare. It was not common. But it does happen occasionally.”
Mr. Hathaway appeared in the 52-minute interview titled “Sheriff Serving & Living On US/Mexico Border Tour Both Sides,” published on the Big Super channel on Feb. 17, 2024.
Ms. Larkin pressed the witness further, “You told Big Super we caught this rancher shooting at migrants. And then you said some people want to hunt some Mexicans. You made that statement.”
“Yeah. I did kind of colloquial—there are some people that they want to come hunt them some Mexicans. I did say that statement.”
“Right after referencing Mr. Kelly’s case,” Ms. Larkin said.
“I didn’t mention Mr. Kelly, but I did refer generically to a type that has that attitude,” Mr. Hathaway responded.
“You didn’t say Mr. Kelly’s name, but that’s who you meant. Right?”
“That is who I meant,” the sheriff answered.
The witness also testified that he believe some Arizona ranchers frequently exaggerate their concerns over illegal immigration to the media.
He referred to these people as “pet ranchers.”
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink later met with the defense and prosecution lawyers to hash out jury instructions.
Of the eight men and four women sitting on the jury, eight will actually deliberate the facts in the cases, and the other four will serve as alternates.
