Trial Begins for Arizona Rancher in Shooting Death of Illegal Immigrant

Prosecutors allege that George Alan Kelly opened fire when he saw a group of men trespassing on his property near the Mexico border, killing one of them.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock, Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

NOGALES, Ariz.—An elderly Arizona rancher is on trial facing a second-degree murder charge in the shooting death of an illegal Mexican immigrant whom the defendant says he saw crossing on his property.

The state initially charged George Alan Kelly, 75, with first-degree murder, later downgraded to murder in the second degree, which removes the element of premeditation.