Red Ice News

The Future is the Past

Jury Finds Mexican Citizen Not Guilty of Murdering San Francisco Woman Kate Steinle
New to Red Ice? Start Here!

Jury Finds Mexican Citizen Not Guilty of Murdering San Francisco Woman Kate Steinle

Source: rt.com

An illegal Mexican immigrant on trial for the murder of a San Francisco woman has been found not guilty. The death of Kate Steinle figured prominently in the debate on immigration, with President Donald Trump referencing it as an argument for a crackdown.

On Thursday afternoon, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, 45, was found not guilty of murdering Steinle, 32. Zarate, previously identified as Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, admitted to firing a single shot from a .40 caliber Sig Sauer at Steinle as she walked with her father on a San Francisco pier on July 1, 2015. He claimed he fired accidentally.

President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday evening that the verdict was “disgraceful.”

“No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration,” Trump added.

Defense attorneys successfully argued that Garcia Zarate has no history of violence and that the shooting was an accident. They said that Garcia Zarate found the handgun wrapped in a cloth under his seat on the pier and that the gun accidentally discharged as he was handling it. The shot then ricocheted off of the concrete ground, 12 to 15 feet away from Zarate, and then traveled at least 78 feet before hitting Steinle in the back.

Garcia Zarate was found guilty on one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

He had already had a record of seven felony convictions, including drug charges, and had been deported from the US five times before re-entering and killing Steinle.

Local authorities had released Garcia Zarate despite a request from federal officials to keep him in custody because of his immigration status, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Steinle’s family. The Steinle family has filed lawsuits against the city of San Francisco, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Matt Gonzalez, a public defender who represented Garcia Zarate, told reporters that the verdict deserves respect and reflection, not knee-jerk criticism. He specifically mentioned President Donald Trump, who he anticipated would tweet about the verdict, telling the president to consider that he himself is under investigation, referring to the probe into alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 election.

Gonzalez also mentioned Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying, “let me just remind them that they are themselves under investigation by a pres prosec in Washington, DC.”

Gonzalez stressed that his client, like Trump and anyone on trial in the US justice system, has the protections of presumed innocence and the reasonable doubt standard.

Gonzalez also told Fox News that “the reality is we have 300 million guns in this country,” and said 50 accidental shootings happen everyday.

Steinle’s murder became a flashpoint in a national debate on immigration and “sanctuary cities.” During his election campaign, Trump threatened to deport every one of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants who live in the United States.

Four days after his election, Trump said in an interview on 60 Minutes he would “get the people that are criminal and have criminal records – gang members, drug dealers, we have a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million – we are getting them out of our country... Or we are going to incarcerate.”

In June, the House of Representatives passed HR 3004, known “Kate’s Law,” to impose more severe punishment for those reentering the country after being deported. The vote took place two days before the anniversary of Steinle’s killing.

Steinle’s murder was used by the Trump administration to bring attention to the threat posed by “sanctuary cities,” a term used to refer to areas which refuse to assist federal authorities in detaining and deporting illegal immigrants.

“San Francisco, and cities like it, are putting the well-being of criminal aliens before the safety of our citizens, and those city officials who authored these policies have the blood of dead Americans on their hands,” the White House said in April.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is attempting to force sanctuary cities to assist federal authorities. He recently issued letters to 29 sanctuary state jurisdictions, threatening to withhold millions in federal funding if they do not comply with 8 US Code Section 1373, the federal statute regulating local cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Comments

We're Hiring

We are looking for a professional video editor, animator and graphics expert that can join us full time to work on our video productions.

Apply

Help Out

Sign up for a membership to support Red Ice. If you want to help advance our efforts further, please:

Donate

Tips

Send us a news tip or a
Guest suggestion

Send Tip

Related News

Robots Are Being Used to Shoo Away Homeless People in San Francisco
Robots Are Being Used to Shoo Away Homeless People in San Francisco
Massive Blackout Hits San Francisco
Massive Blackout Hits San Francisco

Archives Pick

Red Ice T-Shirts

Red Ice Radio

3Fourteen

Con Inc., J6 Political Prisoners & The Pedophile Problem
Kim Coulter - Con Inc., J6 Political Prisoners & The Pedophile Problem
Why European Culture, Art and Beauty Matter
Gifts - Why European Culture, Art and Beauty Matter

TV

Laughter: The New Weapon Of The Far-Right
Laughter: The New Weapon Of The Far-Right
London’s Fourth Plinth To Get Fat Black “Everywoman” Statue
London’s Fourth Plinth To Get Fat Black “Everywoman” Statue

RSSYoutubeGoogle+iTunesSoundCloudStitcherTuneIn

Design by Henrik Palmgren © Red Ice Privacy Policy