SAN FRANCISCO >> A jury has been selected in the high-profile trial of the immigrant who is in the country illegally and accused of killing Pleasanton native Kate Steinle.
Six men and six women — three of whom are immigrants — will decide the fate of Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, who allegedly shot 32-year-old Steinle while she was sitting with her father on San Francisco’s Pier 14 in July 2015. Five alternate jurors, four men and one woman, were also chosen Wednesday.
The case quickly became a national political issue, with then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and other conservatives using it as an argument for tougher border security and against “sanctuary cities.” Garcia Zarate was released from a San Francisco jail three months before the shooting, instead of being deported, because the city’s sanctuary city policy prevented officials from discussing his status with federal immigration authorities.
The jury is a cross-section of today’s San Francisco. It includes at least two tech workers, and most jurors appear to be in their 20s and 30s. Their educational degrees range from doctorates to high school diplomas.
“We are very pleased with the jury,” said Matt Gonzalez, the lead defense lawyer in the case and the chief attorney of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. “We have such great diversity built in in San Francisco and I think we have a jury that understands a lot of the concerns about the defendant receiving a fair trial.”
Gonzalez did not say which countries the three immigrant jurors are from. But he said at least one of the jurors speaks Spanish.
Assistant District Attorney Diana Garcia declined to comment on the composition of the jury.
More than 1,000 potential jurors were called in for the jury selection process, which took place over three days. As they asked the jurors a stream of questions, lawyers on both sides emphasized that they wanted them to focus on the facts of the case and not the politics.
Gonzalez asked them at one point if they would be comfortable coming to a verdict opposed by Trump. The prosecution and defense attorneys also asked the potential jurors their opinions on police, crime and guns.
One big issue in the case will be the weapon that killed Steinle — a gun that was stolen from the car of a federal Bureau of Land Management agent.
The defense attorneys plan to argue that the shooting was an accidental ricochet shot, while the prosecution hopes to prove that Garcia Zarate recklessly shot at people — the standard for conviction of second-degree murder.
Several potential jurors were dismissed because they acknowledged they might be too emotional about the shooting. One potential alternate juror, who was dismissed, said he thought he might not be able to be impartial in the case because he has a sister named Kate who he said looks like Steinle.
Despite the solemnity of the case, Judge Samuel Feng joked with the potential jurors as they waited in the hot, stuffy courtroom. He cautioned them not to read news reports about the shooting or do any research about it.
The jury will not be sequestered.
Garcia Zarate, wearing a plaid button-down shirt, watched the proceedings while wearing large headphones and listening to a simultaneous translation in Spanish.
Opening statements in the trial will take place at 10 a.m. Monday at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice.