Mexican man in Steinle case pleads guilty to federal firearm felonies

A Mexican man who was found not guilty of murdering tourist Kathryn "Kate" Steinle on the San Francisco Pier in July 2015 has pleaded guilty to federal charges of possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a firearm as an alien who unlawfully entered the U.S. for the second time. The maximum sentence he faces is 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

According to Monday's announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate admitted he knew he was "an alien that was unlawfully and illegally in the United States at the time and that he had previously been convicted of a felony, including the felony of illegal reentry after deportation for which he spent more than a year in federal prison" and that he possessed a loaded semi-automatic pistol.

J. Tony Serra of Pier 5 Law Offices in San Francisco represents Garcia-Zarate, and did not respond to requests for comment by press time Tuesday.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Cheng and Kevin J. Barry. Garcia-Zarate's sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 6 before U.S. District Judge Vince G. Chhabria in San Francisco. The U.S. attorney's office did not respond to requests for comment by press time. USA v. Garcia-Zarate, 3:17-CR609, (N.D. Cal., filed Dec. 5, 2017).

Steinle's death raised nationwide calls for stricter enforcement of immigration laws and was also an issue in political campaigns and races across the country, including that of then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, who referred to the killing in his 2016 Republican National Convention speech.

A San Francisco Superior Court jury acquitted Garcia-Zarate of murder in November 2017 after finding he accidentally discharged a gun that was wrapped in a T-shirt when he picked it up from under a bench. The bullet ricocheted and struck Steinle in the back, killing her, the jury found.

The U.S. attorney's office news release also said that in August 2019, "a California state Court of Appeals court overturned Garcia-Zarate's conviction based on the failure of the state trial court to instruct the jury on the state's affirmative defense of momentary possession." Garcia-Zarate then appeared in federal court in January 2018, facing the federal firearm charges, the release stated.

The case was vacated indefinitely in January 2020 when the court ordered Garcia-Zarate to take a mental health evaluation, after which he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Chhabria had commented that, "Garcia-Zarate's speech and responses to questions were frequently off topic or nonsensical and he demonstrated no understanding of the charges against him" and "he lacks sufficient mental capacity to waive his constitutional rights, make a reasoned choice among alternatives and understand the nature and consequences of a guilty plea."

After taking daily antipsychotic medication, Garcia-Zarate was found to be competent enough to stand trial by Chhabria. He had previously pleaded not guilty to the firearms possession charges but changed his plea at the hearing Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Steinle's family sued San Francisco in May 2016, accusing the sheriff's department of refusing to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before releasing Garcia-Zarate for a dismissed marijuana possession charge.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in 2019 the city could not be held liable for its sanctuary city policies.