Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, Acquitted in Kate Steinle's 2015 Slaying, Receives Time Served on Federal Weapons Charges

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, the man at the center of a highly publicized 2015 shooting that killed Kate Steinle in San Francisco, was sentenced to time served in June 2022 on federal firearm charges. This sentencing followed his plea of guilty to being a felon and an unlawfully present alien in possession of a firearm. The legal journey for Garcia Zarate, whose case ignited a national debate on immigration and sanctuary city policies, has spanned years since the fatal incident on Pier 14.

On July 1, 2015, Kate Steinle, 32, was fatally shot while walking with her father and a friend along San Francisco's Pier 14. Garcia Zarate, an undocumented immigrant who had been deported from the U.S. five times prior to the incident, admitted to firing the weapon but maintained it was accidental. He claimed he found the gun, which had been stolen from a federal agent's vehicle, wrapped in cloth under a bench and that it discharged when he picked it up, with the bullet ricocheting before striking Steinle.

In November 2017, a San Francisco jury acquitted Garcia Zarate of murder and manslaughter charges, convicting him only of being a felon in possession of a firearm. This state conviction was later overturned on appeal in August 2019 due to a legal technicality regarding jury instructions. The acquittal on homicide charges drew widespread criticism, with some, like social media user nic carter, stating, "> this guy killed a woman in cold blood and was acquitted for some insane reason."

Despite the state acquittal, federal prosecutors pursued charges. In March 2022, Garcia Zarate pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts related to firearm possession by a felon and an unlawfully present alien. The federal judge, Vince Chhabria, sentenced him to the nearly seven years he had already spent in custody, effectively "time served," citing the harsh conditions of his confinement. However, Garcia Zarate still faced charges in Texas for violating the terms of his supervised release from a previous conviction.

The case became a flashpoint in the national discussion on immigration, particularly due to Garcia Zarate's undocumented status and his history of multiple deportations and re-entries into the United States. His release from San Francisco jail shortly before the shooting, despite a federal immigration detainer request, fueled controversy surrounding the city's "sanctuary city" policies. This aspect of his history resonated with the tweet's assertion that he "got deported. and kept coming back." The tragic death of Kate Steinle and the subsequent legal proceedings have continued to underscore the complexities of immigration law and public safety.