Illegal Felon killer found not guilty after killing Kate Steinie

[Boiler 47,472]

San Francisco (CNN)A jury on Thursday found an undocumented immigrant not guilty in the July 2015 death of Kate Steinle, a decision that reignited the debate over immigration policy.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, 45, was acquitted of murder and involuntary manslaughter charges, as well as assault with a deadly weapon. Jurors convicted the Mexican citizen of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which could bring a three-year sentence.

Prosecutors had argued Garcia Zarate intentionally shot Steinle, 32, with a Sig Sauer .40-caliber handgun as she and her father walked on San Francisco's Pier 14. But Garcia Zarate's defense attorney said the shooting was accidental and the bullet ricocheted off the ground and traveled about 80 feet before hitting Steinle.

Federal immigration officials said they will try to deport Garcia Zarate. He had been deported from the United States five times prior to Steinle's death.

 

Tom Homan, deputy director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also criticized San Francisco's sanctuary city policies.

"San Francisco's policy of refusing to honor ICE detainers is a blatant threat to public safety and undermines the rule of law," he said in a statement. "This tragedy could have been prevented if San Francisco had simply turned the alien over to ICE, as we requested, instead of releasing him back onto the streets."

He said ICE officials "will work to take custody" of Garcia Zarate and deport him.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/us/kate-steinle-murder-trial-verdict/index.html

Edited December 1, 2017 by Boiler

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

Absolutely ridiculous verdict.  Sounds like someone was either drunk or just doesn’t know how to shoot, but the victim ended up dead in spite of that.  

[Boiler 47,472]

It is San Fran.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

They wanted to be good compsionate liberals. He was illegal after all 

[Boiler 47,472]

1 hour ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

They wanted to be good compassionate liberals. He was illegal after all 

Prospective Citizen is the prefered term.

[bcking 3,157]

I didn't know many details of the case but after reading them yes it seems really surprising that the Jury considered him not guilty. I guess it probably had everything to do with "reasonable doubt", and given the conflicting stories there was enough doubt to not convict him. 

 

Was there evidence of the "ricocheting bullet" argument present at the scene? Wouldn't you be able to find evidence that the bullet hit a surface? Or am I thinking about CSI too much?

[Boiler 47,472]

I have not read all the articles but apparently he had been seen pointing the gun at various people and of course a gun does not go off by itself, he pulled the trigger, took of the safety catch.

 

No way of knowing if he deliberately pointed at her.

[bcking 3,157]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I have not read all the articles but apparently he had been seen pointing the gun at various people and of course a gun does not go off by itself, he pulled the trigger, took of the safety catch.

 

No way of knowing if he deliberately pointed at her.

The part you quote mentions a "ricocheting" argument. I was just wondering whether or not you could find evidence of that? If it ricocheted off the ground, wouldn't it have left a mark? If they found the shell casing, and figured out where he was standing (roughly) they could have examined the area for evidence of a ricochet.  See if his argument holds up.

[Boiler 47,472]

1 minute ago, bcking said:

The part you quote mentions a "ricocheting" argument. I was just wondering whether or not you could find evidence of that? If it ricocheted off the ground, wouldn't it have left a mark? If they found the shell casing, and figured out where he was standing (roughly) they could have examined the area for evidence of a ricochet.  See if his argument holds up.

I would have thought so, would need a hard surface and leave a mark.

 

Not sure that there is sufficient evidence for Murder One, well not seen it.

[bcking 3,157]

Just now, Boiler said:

I would have thought so, would need a hard surface and leave a mark.

 

Not sure that there is sufficient evidence for Murder One, well not seen it.

Now I am be confusing CSI with the real world but...

 

Couldn't you also make an argument regarding the loss of velocity from the ricochet, and the distance traveled, and compare it to the impact on the body? Surely a bullet fired straight from the gun to the victim would have had greater "power" than one that ricocheted and therefore lost substantial momentum.

 

Also presumably if it ricocheted off the ground and then hit her the angle of the bullet would have been from below (the bullet travelling from ground level up to wherever it struck the victim). If the bullet was discharged from the gun while he was holding it the angle would have been more parallel to the ground, or even from above depending on the height of the man and the height of the woman.

[Boiler 47,472]

In reality it was a one in a million shot, being hit with a pistol bullet does not usually kill people and I do not think he aimed at her, probably would have missed if he did.

 

On the issue of energy, well there is a normal minimum and a ricochet would take energy away, but David killed Goliath with a sling shot so it depends.

[yuna628 9,873]

Remember we are only outside observers. We need to ask questions like: did the prosecutors present a strong case? Did the charges fit various technicalities of the crime that may have arisen? Was there forensic evidence that may have called into question the nature of the charges? We agree that his actions caused her death. He does not dispute that.... and considering he only had a public defender, matched up against the state, there must have been something that swayed them in the other direction.

 

It is often hard that our system is a jury of peers and that we must abide by decisions - good or bad. It's hard for people to accept. Often it is down to the fault of the prosecutor not having a strong enough case, sometimes it's the wrong charges brought that leave juries with difficult decisions to make without much help, and sometimes it is due to a breakdown within the jury (when it becomes hung).. but this decision seems like they were pretty sure of things. My sister was once on a big case for a pretty brutal murder..it didn't matter the evidence, there was one juror who just didn't want to ''ruin a kid for the rest of his life''.. and that led to some struggles with the jurors. This sounds like it was a complicated decision for them to make with some questions that came up.

[Boiler 47,472]

The Lawyer:

 

Matthew Edward Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He was an important figure in San Francisco politics in the years 2000–2005, when he served on San Francisco County's Board of Supervisors and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the Green Party, lost a close race for mayor of San Francisco to Democrat Gavin Newsom. In the 2008 presidential election, Gonzalez ran for vice president as the running mate of candidate Ralph Nader. He currently works in San Francisco’s Public Defender's Office.^[1][2]

 

In February 2011, Jeff Adachi appointed Gonzalez chief attorney in the Public Defender's Office ^[1][2] In 2012, Gonzalez was criticized for taking a paid, month-long leave of absence to act as co-counsel for a corporation, Cobra Solutions, in its $16 million lawsuit against San Francisco. This was a violation of the San Francisco Public Defender's office rules of ethics, part of which states, "No employee may provide legal advice or legal representation...to any person or entity other than in the employee's official capacity."^[41][42] Gonzalez represented Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez in the Kathryn Steinle murder case.^[43]

[yuna628 9,873]

Right, doesn't sound like lawyering or being successful is his strong suit.

[bcking 3,157]

Just now, yuna628 said:

Right, doesn't sound like lawyering or being successful is his strong suit.

I believe that was the Public Defender, not the prosecutor.

 

So in this case he was quite successful.