An illegal immigrant who was acquitted of killing San Francisco woman Kate Steinle in 2015 was convicted on Monday of a long-serving federal conviction for a high-profile weapon.
Jose Ines Garcia-Zarate is facing deportation in his native Mexico after a federal judge in California sentenced him to seven years in prison – ending a case that sparked a firestorm around immigration and asylum cities.
“If you come back to this country and come back to me, I will not spare you. Let this be your last warning: Do not return to this country, “said U.S. District Judge Vince Chabria during the sentencing hearing.
Steinle, 32, was shot while walking along the crowded San Francisco Quay 14 with her father and friend on July 4, 2015.
Garcia-Zarate, who has been in the United States illegally and has already been deported five times, admitted to accidentally firing a gun.
He said he found it under a bench, but did not know it was a firearm because it was wrapped in a T-shirt. The gun fired when Garcia-Zarate picked it up, and officers said the bullet ricocheted off the ground before hitting the victim.
Kate Steinle, 32, was shot while walking along the crowded San Francisco Quay 14 with her father and friend in July 2015. Getty Images
The gun was stolen from the car of the ranger of the American Bureau of Land Management a week earlier.
The jury eventually acquitted Garcia-Zarate on charges of murder in 2017, but he was still facing federal charges of firearms.
He pleaded guilty in March to being a criminal with a firearm and a person illegally possessing a firearm in the country after a five-year delay due to mental health concerns.
Jose Ines Garcia-Zarate’s lawyer said he “feels terrible about what happened.” Associated Press
His lawyer, Mike Hinckley, told the court on Monday that Garcia-Zarate “feels terrible about what happened and that he is very sorry and apologizes.”
Steinle’s death sparked a national immigration debate and led to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, who called for repression against illegal migrants and asylum towns, including San Francisco, who refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
With postal wires
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