Kelly said that he fired a warning shot at the man "over the tree, over the top of his head, and thank God him and the other guys ran." Later that day, he found the body of Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, an illegal alien, and called the sheriff's department. Responding officers accused Kelly of shooting the migrant and arrested him. Prosecutors say the dead man was unarmed. The bullet that caused the fatal wound was never found and Kelly's lawyers said that forensics and the ballistics didn't match his gun. Kelly spent 22 days in jail and was threatened by Mexican cartel inmates. Kelly used up his life savings and spent about $2 million in personal funding and funding from a legal defense fund. The case ended in a mistrial.

Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly said men came towards his home with an AK-47 aimed at him the day he was arrested for murder.

"He turned towards me … pointed the AK at me. And that's when — everybody says was the dumbest thing I ever did — they said you should have shot him because he was getting ready to shoot you," Kelly told NewsNation.

Instead, he told the news outlet that he "shot over the tree, over the top of his head, and thank God him and the other guys ran."

Later that day – Jan. 30, 2023 – he found a body and called the sheriff's department. Responding officers accused Kelly of fatally shooting the victim, an illegal immigrant, and hauled him away in cuffs.