Illegal immigrant’s lawyers want gun conviction tossed
SAN FRANCISCO — Lawyers for a Mexican man who was acquitted in the shooting death of a young San Francisco woman said Monday they will ask a judge to toss his gun possession conviction. Those representing Jose Ines Garcia Zarate say they will argue that he didn’t know he had a gun in his hand until it fired.
The weapon possession count carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Garcia Zarate has been in jail since July 1, 2015.
Immigration authorities said they will deport Garcia Zarate after he serves his sentence.
The death of Kate Steinle, who was shot and killed while on a stroll with her father in San Francisco’s Embarcadero, has become a rallying cry for more stringent immigration laws, including a crackdown on so-called “sanctuary cities” and creation of a wall along the U.s.-mexico border.
Calls for the border wall grew louder over the past few days, after a San Francisco jury acquitted Garcia Zarate.
On social media, many advocating for the border wall have used #Kateswall as they condemned the acquittal of Garcia Zarate, a convicted felon who was in the country illegally at the time of Steinle’s death.
At Pier 14 in San Francisco, where Steinle was shot and killed in 2015, tall and short white candles are lined up neatly around and on a wooden bench. There’s also a picture of a smiling Steinle taped on a white poster and surrounded with handwritten messages.
“You’re not here because somebody who wasn’t supposed to be was,” one wrote.
Right below Steinle’s picture: “Build the Wall.”