Mar 14, 2022 · SAN FRANCISCO – Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate pleaded guilty today in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to being an alien unlawfully present in this country in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman.
Aug 11, 2021 · A separate case against Jose Ines Garcia Zarate on federal gun charges has been pending since 2017. U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria raised “serious concerns” about his …
Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate, a Mexican national and convicted felon who previously had been deported from the United States five times, pleaded guilty Monday to two federal weapons offenses in connection with the fatal shooting of Pleasanton native Kate Steinle in San Francisco, according to U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds. Garcia-Zarate fired the ...
He was acquitted of the murder. After that, state prosecutors filed the weapons possession charges and Zarate was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. The gun had been stolen from a U.S. Bureau of Land Management agent’s car.
Garcia-Zarate had been tried for murder in the July 1, 2015, shooting of Steinle, who was walking with her father and a family friend on Pier 14 off The Embarcadero.
The case became a national flashpoint in debates over immigration, as Garcia-Zarate is an undocumented Mexican citizen who had been deported five times and had seven felony convictions. The case was frequently cited by President Donald Trump as he sought more restrictive immigration policies.
"Let's be very clear here," Brustin said, according to the transcript. "You understand that we called you a liar in the complaint, correct? ... And you understood we claimed you lied about the substance of that study, correct? ... Did you like being called a liar?"
Matt Gonzalez, chief attorney with the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, and Deputy Public Defender Francisco Ugarte leave court after the arraignment for Jose Ines Garcia Zarate on July 7, 2015, in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)