Arizona rancher released from custody on $1 million bond with money from Christian donations website

Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly, accused of fatally shooting a Mexican migrant on his land last month, was released Thursday on $1 million bond secured by his ranch.

Relatives of Kelly, 73, have been able to raise more than $350,000 on GiveSendGo, a Christian alternative to GoFundMe after the top crowdfunder took down Kelly’s pages.

Kelly was in custody on a single count of murder for shooting Gabriel Cuen-Butimea on January 30.

He told police and border patrol agents that he fired warning shots when he saw Cuen-Butimea and at least eight other Mexicans running across his land.

The 73-year-old says he thought they were drug dealers and wanted to scare them off, but was careful not to shoot them directly.

In court on Wednesday, a judge agreed to convert Kelly’s $1 million cash bond into bond, allowing her to use her 170-acre ranch to get out after nearly a month in custody.

It will be backed by a sum of several hundred thousand dollars thanks to GiveSendGowho first rose to fame when he allowed people to help the Canadian truckers protest.

Like that case, Kelly’s is one where GoFundMe has not allowed fundraising for the 73-year-old on the platform.

The GoFundMe Terms of Service explicitly prohibit campaigns that raise money to cover the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime. In accordance with this long-standing policy, any fundraising campaign for the legal defense of someone accused of murder is removed from our platform,” a spokesperson said. foxnews.

“Donors who contributed to fundraising campaigns for George Alan Kelly’s legal expenses have been fully reimbursed.”

GiveSendGo co-founder Heather Wilson told Fox that this is exactly why her platform exists.

‘To allow people to have a voice and get support in times of need. At the moment [we] We don’t know more than what is being shared in the news, but we do know that in our country legal defense is not just for the rich,’ he said.

“We will continue to allow legal defense fundraising on GiveSendGo, as the presumption of innocence until proven guilty is the foundation of our justice system.”

In court on Wednesday, a judge agreed to convert Kelly’s $1 million cash bond into bond, allowing her to use her 170-acre ranch to get out after nearly a month in custody.

Kelly will receive several hundred thousand dollars in support thanks to GiveSendGo, which first rose to fame when it allowed people to help the Canadian trucker’s protest.

Kelly called border patrol after the shooting and they searched the entire ranch immediately, but no bodies were found. It was only a few hours later, when he was trying to find his horse, that he found the man’s body and called authorities again to report his death.

However, prosecutors say Kelly, who has no criminal record and lives alone with his wife Wanda, deliberately “hunted” the men with an AK-47, then changed his story multiple times while speaking to police and the border Patrol.

They say he shot ‘innocent man’ Cuen-Butimea in the back as he ran ‘for his life’, and they are largely resting their case. in witness statements from two other men who have recently come forward and claim they were there that day.

Those men claim they were all immigrants trying to sneak into the United States, but when Kelly started shooting, they jumped over the fence and “returned to Mexico.”

He has also been charged with two counts of aggravated assault against ‘Daniel’ and ‘Ramón’, the two immigrants who have now come forward to assist in the prosecution.

This photo provided by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office in Nogales, Arizona shows rancher George Alan Kelly

George Alan Kelly, center, enters court for his preliminary hearing at the Nogales Justice Court

An additional GiveSendGo page has raised over $50,000

Prosecutors said today that Kelly shot an “innocent man in the back as he fled for his life.”

In a filing, they said the immigrants did not pose a threat to him or his family.

“This type of unprovoked attack presents significant danger to victims and the community,” Assistant County Attorney Kimberly Hunley said in the filing.

Kelly’s attorney said the prosecution has given full faith to the two men who have come forward, while all of the rancher’s comments have been scrutinized.

He also pointed to the fact that these men have only now come forward as witnesses, nearly a month after the shooting, after the case gained national and international media attention.

‘There is a very large incentive structure for people come forward: people can get immigration benefits for dong so. They may also succumb to pressure from traffickers, who have an interest in blaming Mr. Kelly for this event,” he said.

‘The testimony is bought and sold by drug traffickers. It is a commodity and it is used.

“The benefit they’re getting here is security for their smuggling route through their property, and they’re sending a message to anyone else, that if they defend their property against us, they’ll be arrested and there will be witnesses.”

Kelly listens to prosecutors in court on Wednesday. Her $1 million bail was converted from cash to security, meaning she can use her home to secure her release.

Kelly’s wife, Wanda, left court on Wednesday. He says that he was just trying to protect her.

Kelly’s 170-acre ranch is just a stone’s throw from the border. He told police that he was having lunch with his wife when he heard gunshots on January 30. He went on the porch with his gun and says he fired warning shots as he watched a group of men run through the trees.

Kimberly Hunley, Chief Deputy County Attorney, called Kelly a danger to society in her report

Kelly’s lawyer said the case was “decided” even before charges were filed, and that he is being unfairly smeared as a violent racist.

Gabriel Cuen-Butimea’s body was later found on the ranch grounds.

There was no bullet. There were no witnesses. But the government rushes in and decides to charge with first degree premeditated murder,” he said.

“This struck a match on a very intense political tinderbox and, predictably, there was an explosion.

This case has been highly publicized, highly politicized. People have already prejudged this case very strongly.

‘After this giant political explosion happened, random witnesses start coming forward. They show up long after the fact, after the investigation is compromised by all the hype, essentially anyone can show up.

“The state does not appear to have investigated any of these witnesses.

“The state doesn’t seem to vet these witness statements the same way they have theirs, there seems to be double standards and confirmation bias.”

The prosecution, in its own filing, asked the judge to keep Kelly behind bars so witnesses, and the victim’s family, would feel safe coming to court.