SAN FRANCISCO, CA. (THECOUNT) — A California state appeals court has thrown out the sole conviction against Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate, the illegal immigrant who fatally shot San Francisco woman, Kathryn Steinle on the waterfront in 2015.
The 1st District Court of Appeal on Friday overturned a gun conviction against Garcia-Zarate because the judge failed to instruct the jury on one of his defenses.
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Garcia-Zarate was acquitted of murder in the killing of Kate Steinle, who was on a pier with her father when she was shot in the back in July 2015.
The case of Garcia-Zarate, who was in the country illegally and had been deported five times, touched off a fierce immigration debate, reports KSBW.
He said he unwittingly picked up the gun wrapped in a T-shirt and it fired accidentally.
Garcia-Zarate is in custody and facing federal gun charges.
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Geo quick facts: San Francisco, officially City and County of San Francisco and colloquially known as SF, San Fran or “The City”, is a city in—and the cultural, commercial, and financial center of—Northern California – Wikipedia.