A man who had been deported five times before he was accused of fatally shooting a 32-year-old woman is standing trial in a case President Trump cited as a reason to create stricter U.S. immigration policies.
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate’s trial began Monday with Deputy District Attorney Diana Garcia showing jurors the handgun, which was stolen from a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger, that was used to kill Kate Steinle in San Francisco on July 1, 2015.
Garcia said a ballistics expert will testify that the only way to fire it is to pull the trigger, while Garcia Zarate’s lawyer Matt Gonzalez countered that his client did not know he had picked up a gun when he reached under a bench and found something wrapped in a T-shirt.
Gonzalez finished by asking jurors rhetorically if they believed prosecutors would have charged “a college student or Swedish tourist” with murder if they were the suspects instead of Garcia Zarate, who was born in Mexico.
Jim Steinle appeared in court and recounted the final moments of his daughter’s life while his lower lip quivered with emotion.
He told the court that he and a family friend had finished a late lunch with Katie Steinle when they decided to go for a walk on the pier on San Francisco’s popular waterfront.
The elder Steinle said he heard a loud “bang,” and his daughter collapsed in his arms, saying “help me, Dad.”
Jim Steinle said when she fell to the ground, her eyes were closed and she had difficulty breathing.
“I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.” He said, choking back tears. “She didn’t have any health problems.”
After he rolled Kate Steinle on her side, he lifted her blouse and discovered a bullet hole with little blood. Paramedics arrived shortly afterward, and she was declared dead at a nearby hospital.
Her death touched off a debate on illegal immigration and so-called sanctuary cities because Garcia Zarate had been deported five times.
At the time of Steinle’s death, he had recently completed a prison sentence for illegal re-entry to the U.S. when he was transferred to the San Francisco County jail to face a 20-year-old marijuana charge.
Prosecutors dropped that charge, and the San Francisco sheriff released Garcia Zarate from jail despite a federal immigration request to detain him for at least two more days for deportation.
The sheriff’s department said it was following the city’s sanctuary policy of limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Since being elected, Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities such as San Francisco, several of which have filed lawsuits to prevent the move.
None of that is at issue during the trial. The judge has barred mention of the politics of immigration and gun control during the proceedings.
The 54-year-old, who is charged with second-degree murder, faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison if he is convicted.
Steinle’s mother and brother attended the opening of the trial, where lawyers for each side spoke for about 90 minutes, The trial is expected to last several weeks.
