Free Republic

An undocumented man acquitted of murder in the 2015 shooting of a woman on a San Francisco pier that became a national flashpoint over immigration pleaded guilty Monday to federal gun charges.

Following the overturned state firearm conviction of illegal immigrant Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate, U.S. Attorney David Anderson said Wednesday the federal government plans to proceed with federal gun charges in the case of Kate Steinle, during an interview on "Fox & Friends." Zarate, who was previously deported five times, was charged by the state of California with the murder of Steinle in 2015 and was acquitted on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and assault with a semi-automatic weapon. He was, however, convicted of felony possession of a firearm, and has maintained the stolen gun he used had discharged...

A California state appeals court Friday overturned the lone conviction against an undocumented immigrant who shot and killed Kate Steinle on the San Francisco waterfront in 2015, a case which drew national attention and became a flashpoint in the debate over illegal immigration. Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate, who was in the U.S. illegally had been deported to his native Mexico five times, was acquitted in November 2017 of first and second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and assault with a semi-automatic weapon. He was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Friday, the 1st District Court...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Mexican man acquitted of murder in the shooting death of a San Francisco woman that sparked a national immigration debate was sentenced Friday to time served for illegal gun possession. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng also denied a defense request to grant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate a new trial for his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Garcia Zarate will now be taken into U.S. custody to face two federal gun possession charges. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department said it would hold Garcia Zarate in jail until U.S. marshals...

If you are inclined to commit a heinous crime, San Francisco is the place for you. You can sneak into City Hall armed with a .38-caliber revolver, murder the mayor and a supervisor in cold blood, and get away with it. All you need to do is conjure some preposterous defense. Blame it on an excessive consumption of junk food like Twinkies and you can beat the rap. You know… eat a Twinkie and commit murder. A San Francisco jury will lap it up. So, it should come as no surprise that the killer of Kate Steinle was acquitted Thursday...

The Trump administration moved Friday to claim custody of the illegal immigrant who killed Kate Steinle, saying he violated the terms of his probation and should be sent back to federal prison. The move is aimed at taking Jose Inez Garcia Zarate away from California officials, after a jury in that state acquitted him Thursday of murder and manslaughter charges stemming from the Steinle killing. A Justice Department official said there’s an existing federal detainer requiring Garcia Zarate to be remanded to U.S. Marshals and sent to a federal court in Texas to answer for the probation violation. Garcia Zarate...