Jury visits a ranch near US
PHOENIX (AP) — Jurors in the case of an Arizona rancher charged with fatally shooting a migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border visited the scene of the killing as the third week of the trial wrapped up.
Court officials on Thursday took jurors in a van to view various locations at George Alan Kelly’s ranch, as well as a section of the border. Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink denied news media requests to tag along.
The case in Nogales, Arizona, has attracted national attention as border security becomes an increasingly important issue in this year’s presidential contest.
Fink said this week that the case was taking longer than he hoped and he would start imposing time limits on testimony to ensure that the case goes to the jury next Thursday.
Kelly, 75, is charged with the second-degree murder of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, a Mexican citizen. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but didn’t shoot directly at anyone.