Slow movement on S.F. murder case behind legislation
As the House of Representatives on Thursday passed Kate’s Law, which would boost punishment for people who repeatedly enter the U.S. illegally, the San Francisco criminal case that spurred the legislation continued to move slowly in court.
Almost two years after 32year-old Kate Steinle was fatally shot on Pier 14, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, 54, awaits trial for murder. It’s possible, though not certain, that he will be tried in the next few months.
The Mexican citizen had been on track for a sixth deportation after serving 46 months in prison for felony re-entry into the country, but was released from San Francisco jail rather than being turned over to immigration agents under the city’s sanctuary policies.
On July 1, 2015, Steinle had an arm around her father when a bullet pierced her back and went through her heart. Her father, James Steinle, who advocated for Kate’s Law, said her last words were, “Dad, help me, help me.”
Lopez-Sanchez’s public defender, Matt Gonzalez, argued at a preliminary hearing that the shooting was an accident. The fatal bullet was damaged on one side, he said, indicating it had ricocheted off the ground. Lopez-Sanchez said afterward he threw the gun into the bay so it would stop firing, according to Gonzalez, who declined to comment further Thursday.
The gun was a pistol stolen from the car of a federal Bureau of Land Management agent in San Francisco four days earlier. Lopez-Sanchez, who was homeless, said he found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt under a bench.
A trial date set for December 2016 was postponed. LopezSanchez is scheduled to return to court July 14, when another trial date could be set. Attorneys on both sides have been tight-lipped about their strategy for arguing the case to a jury.
Steinle’s death sparked a push against the sanctuary policies that were behind his release. He was transferred from federal custody to the city jail in March 2015 on an old warrant alleging he fled marijuana charges in 1995. When prosecutors discharged the case, the Sheriff ’s Department released him despite a request to hold him for deportation.
Before the release, thenSheriff Ross Mirkarimi issued a memo banning all communication with immigration agents. After Steinle’s death, Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, who was elected in November 2015, reached a compromise with city supervisors allowing for discretion to notify immigration agents about an inmate if the inmate met a criteria based on past convictions.