SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Mexican who was acquitted of homicide in a 2015 incident that left a woman dead on a San Francisco pier and became a topic of debate on immigration pleaded guilty on Monday to federal arms charges.
Jose Inéz García Zarate, 51, pleaded almost seven years after shooting Kate Steinle on July 1, 2015, while she was walking on the busy seafront. The case helped fuel a strong nationwide debate around immigration and sanctuary cities, which limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
In late 2017, a San Francisco Superior Court jury acquitted Garcia Zarate on several counts, including homicide. But shortly after his acquittal, federal prosecutors charged him with two counts of illegal possession of a gun.
Federal gun charges had been pending since 2017, after district judge Vince Chhabria raised concerns about Garcia Zarate's mental faculties. Two doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia and determined that he was not fit to face trial because he could not follow court procedures.
One of the doctors informed the court last month that the Mexican was competent to stand trial after regularly taking his medications.
On Monday, Chhabria asked Garcia Zarate to summarize the charges against him to confirm that he was competent.
“The charges are because I was illegal in the country and (I had) a firearm,” the Mexican replied in Spanish.
Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth trial when he fired the gun and caused the death of Steinle, who was 32 years old.
He acknowledged holding the gun that killed Steinle, but said it had been accidentally fired when he found it wrapped in a t-shirt under a bench on the pier, where the woman was walking with her father.
The incident became a major campaign issue in several local and national contests in the United States. Former President Donald Trump mentioned the issue several times during his 2016 campaign to reinforce his argument that tougher immigration policies and opposition to sanctuary cities were needed.
Garcia Zarate faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 6.