Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 – Nogales
During a preliminary hearing held on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at the Nogales Justice Court, Kimberly Hunley, chief deputy Santa Cruz County Attorney, alleged that George Alan Kelly shot and killed Gabriel Cuen Buitimea, 48, of Nogales Sonora, an unarmed man in an “unprovoked attack” during her remarks at a court hearing. The shooting took place on Kelly’s Kino Springs area ranch on Jan. 30, 2023.
“Mr. Kelly shot an unarmed man in the back in an unprovoked attack as he ran for his life,” Hunley said during her remarks. “There was no warning and the victim was more than 100 yards from the defendant’s residence when he was shot and killed.”
Additional charges were filed Tuesday, ahead of today’s hearing by the SCC Sheriff’s Office amending the original complaint to include two additional counts of aggravated assault.
The new charges allege that at least two other people, in a group of eight, were shot at as they fled.
Cuen Buitimea’s body was found approximately 100 yards from Kelly’s home with one visible gunshot wound, according to reporting from Nogales International. No weapon or backpack was found on or near Cuen Buitimea, according to the state’s motion.
During the hearing, Kelly’s attorney, Brenna Larkin, entered a plea of not guilty on Kelly’s behalf for the two additional charges of aggravated assault and heavily criticized the investigation of the case for charging Kelly before all the details of the case had been investigated. “Quite simply, this is a case where an innocent man has been wrongfully accused of a crime,” the defense’s motion stated.
The preliminary hearing was pushed to Friday morning where witnesses will be present.
Justice of the Peace Emilio Velasquez kept the bond at $1 million on Wednesday but converted the cash bond into a surety bond, a specific type of bond that accepts alternate forms of collateral such as property.