Kate Steinle trial: Garcia Zarate acquitted in San Francisco pier killing

[alp227]

Source: SF Chronicle

A homeless man whose undocumented immigration status intensified a national debate over the ethics of sanctuary laws was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges Thursday in the shooting of Kate Steinle as she strolled with her father on Pier 14 to take in a view of San Francisco Bay.

In returning its verdict on the sixth day of deliberations, the San Francisco Superior Court jury also found Jose Ines Garcia Zarate not guilty of assault with a firearm while convicting him of a single lesser charge of being a felon in possession of a gun. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Garcia Zarate, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen who was released from San Francisco jail before the killing despite a federal request that he be held for his sixth deportation, was charged with murder, and prosecutors gave the jury the option of convicting him of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter.

Steinle, 32, had been walking with her arm around her father when she was struck in the back by a single bullet on July 1, 2015. The round had skipped off the concrete ground after being fired from a pistol that had been stolen, four days earlier, from the nearby parked car of a federal ranger.

Read more: http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Jury-reaches-verdict-in-killing-of-Kate-Steinle-12396509.php

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Although it wasn't as high profile, this could be easily the OJ Simpson trial of the 2010s.

[Codeine]

1. The difference is that this guy was clearly

not guilty of what he'd been accused.

[Calista241]

2. And now she becomes a martyr for all the racist, anti-immigrant douchebags out there. n/t

[virgogal]

4. If she becomes a martyr what do

you think he is?

A victim?

[johnnylol]

3. kate steinle

5 time deported fires the gun that ricochet that ended killing her.. and pays no price for that...

[populistdriven]

5. prosecutor over reach but its not over yet -

while convicting him of a single lesser charge of being a felon in possession of a gun. He will be sentenced at a later date.

[alp227]

7. 16 months to 3 years in jail

https://www.shouselaw.com/felon-firearm.html#6.1

[Yupster]

9. I thought involuntary manslaughter seemed

like the correct charge. Murder seemed a bridge too far.

Possession of a gun seems way too low.

[christx30]

6. If I drop a golf ball out of a window

and it kills someone, I'm charged with Manslaughter at the least. But this guy can fire a gun in a public place, and nothing?

[Adsos Letter]

8. Did you intend to drop the golf ball out of the window?

Did he intend to fire the weapon?

I'm not in any way an attorney (didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) so I don't know if that is a difference that is germane.

[christx30]

10. I don't know. Maybe I'm being careless with something

I shouldn't have been holding, and someone's dead as a result. Shouldn't I face consequences for that?

He originally said that he was shooting at birds in the area. I guess his lawyer told him it looked bad for him legally, so he changed his story. Either way, he lied. The jury members were idiots. So he'll spend 3 years in prison (maybe less), then get deported, like nothing ever happened.

[MadDAsHell]

13. Been deported 5 times already. Im not sure what the point is anymore.

[christx30]

17. Maybe at this point it's time to just

put him in a cage and leave him there until he dies? He obviously doesn't respect anything resembling law. One of his previous convictions was for felony heroin possession and manufacturing narcotics. He's not an asset to the country. I mean, what would you do to someone that keeps breaking the same law over and over again? So, if Trump is still president, is the INS going to put a detainer on Zarate when he gets out? If so, will California honor it? Or will they just let him roam the streets again? Because that worked out SO well the last time it happened. Repeated immigration violations are a federal felony, so I'm sure he'd be convicted and spend more time in prison, if California cooperates, and doesn't help him get away.

[jcmaine72]

11. Sadly, sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good.

Dotard politicized this terrible accident to advance his racist agenda. The jurors in this case just told Trump and his brainless deplorable sycophants where they can stick that agenda.

R.I.P., Ms Steinle.

[Puzzledtraveller]

12. That's bull

you think the jury was concerned with making a political statement out of someone's death and the possible murder conviction of the defendant?

[MadDAsHell]

14. What greater good was accomplished here?

[Iggo]

15. Bullshit.

Prosecutors couldn't prove that he shot her intentionally or even that he fired the gun intentionally.

It's got nothing to do with sticking it to Trump.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

19. Not sure the two are mutually exclusive.

[Sailor65x1]

16. So which beloved member of your family

Will you sacrifice next for the "Greater good?"

[mobeau69]

18. The ricochet is why he got off.

Defense contended that no expert marksman could make a shot like that.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

20. Also, don't forget the government's burden of proof... guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.