A Lawless Spree: Juan Francisco López-Sánchez's Criminal Acts

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican labourer with a lengthy criminal record, was arrested for the murder of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle on Pier 14 in San Francisco. Lopez-Sanchez had been deported from the U.S. previously and was awaiting a sixth deportation after serving 46 months in prison for felony re-entry into the country. On the day of the murder, Steinle was walking with her father when a bullet pierced her back and went through her heart. Lopez-Sanchez's public defender, Matt Gonzalez, argued that the shooting was an accident, but Lopez-Sanchez was ultimately charged with murder.

The murder of Kathryn Steinle

On July 1, 2015, 32-year-old Kathryn "Kate" Steinle was shot and killed while walking with her father and a friend along Pier 14 in San Francisco. The man who fired the gun, José Inez García Zárate, claimed that he had found it moments before, wrapped in a cloth beneath a bench, and that when he picked it up, it went off. The bullet ricocheted off the concrete deck of the pier and struck Steinle in the back. She died two hours later in hospital.

García Zárate, also known as Juan Francisco López-Sánchez, was an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had been deported from the US five times prior to the shooting. He had seven non-violent felony convictions and was on probation in Texas at the time of the shooting.

García Zárate was arrested about an hour after the shooting and charged with first-degree murder and possession of illegal narcotics. He admitted to the shooting in a KGO-TV interview but claimed that he had found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt under a bench after taking sleeping pills from a trash can. He first claimed that he was aiming at sea lions, then that the gun had fired accidentally while he was picking it up.

On July 28, García Zárate was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. On September 4, a judge ruled that there was enough evidence to try him. He was eventually tried for second-degree murder.

García Zárate's attorney, Matt Gonzalez, stated in court that the shooting was likely accidental. The defence argued that the gun had no external safety mechanism and pointed to a record of even police-trained shooters having made accidental discharges with the same model of gun.

On November 30, 2017, after five days of deliberations, the jury acquitted García Zárate of all murder and manslaughter charges, but convicted him of being a felon in possession of a firearm. This conviction was later overturned on appeal.

The shooting sparked fierce criticism and political debate over San Francisco's sanctuary city policy, which disallows local officials from questioning a resident's immigration status. Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate, cited García Zárate in support of his proposal to deport criminal illegal immigrants living in the United States, and mentioned Steinle during his acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

The gun used in the murder was stolen from a federal agent's car

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, was charged with the murder of 32-year-old Kate Steinle in San Francisco in 2015. The gun used in the murder was a .40-caliber Glock pistol stolen from the car of a federal Bureau of Land Management agent four days before the shooting.

Lopez-Sanchez, who was homeless, claimed that he found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt under a bench. He also claimed that the shooting was an accident, and that he threw the gun into the bay afterward so it would stop firing.

The gun theft was not an isolated incident. It followed a series of break-ins and burglaries in the San Francisco Bay Area, where guns were stolen and used in homicides. For example, three months before Steinle's murder, a gun stolen from a federal agent's car was used to kill a backpacker and a tantric yoga instructor.

Lopez-Sanchez had a lengthy criminal record and had been deported from the U.S. before. He was on track for a sixth deportation after serving 46 months in prison for felony re-entry into the country. However, he was released from a San Francisco jail instead of being turned over to immigration agents under the city's sanctuary policies.

Lopez-Sanchez was a Mexican citizen who had been deported from the US previously

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, had been deported from the US to his native Mexico five times from June 1994 to June 2009. He had repeatedly sneaked back into the US within days, weeks, or months of his deportations.

Lopez-Sanchez had served three stints in federal prison for illegal re-entry, totalling roughly 15 years. His most recent stint ended in March 2015, after which he was transferred to the San Francisco Sheriff's Department to face a marijuana possession charge.

Local prosecutors dropped the drug charge, and the San Francisco sheriff, citing the city's sanctuary policy, released Sanchez in April 2015, despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request to hold him for deportation.

Lopez-Sanchez was arrested in July 2015 and accused of killing 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle on Pier 14 in San Francisco. He pleaded not guilty to murder charges, with his public defender arguing that the shooting was an accident.

Lopez-Sanchez was released from jail under San Francisco's sanctuary policies

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, was released from a San Francisco jail in April 2015 despite a request from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to hold him for deportation. Lopez-Sanchez was in the country illegally and had been deported five times previously for the same reason.

San Francisco is a sanctuary city, meaning that local law enforcement does not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. This policy is intended to reduce fear among immigrants and encourage cooperation with the police. However, in this case, Lopez-Sanchez was released under the city's sanctuary policies despite having a lengthy criminal record.

Lopez-Sanchez had been transferred from federal custody to the city jail in March 2015 on an old warrant alleging he had fled marijuana charges in 1995. When prosecutors discharged the case, the Sheriff's Department released him, ignoring the request from ICE to hold him.

Lopez-Sanchez had been on track for a sixth deportation after serving 46 months in prison for felony re-entry into the country. Instead, he was released and, on July 1, 2015, allegedly shot and killed 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle on Pier 14 in San Francisco.

Lopez-Sanchez's public defender, Matt Gonzalez, argued that the shooting was an accident, claiming that the bullet had ricocheted off the ground. Lopez-Sanchez himself said that he had found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt under a bench and that he threw it into the bay after it fired to stop it from shooting again.

The gun was a pistol stolen from the car of a federal agent in San Francisco four days before the shooting.

Lopez-Sanchez's release sparked a push against sanctuary city policies, with critics arguing that these policies impede efforts to deport illegal immigrants and put the safety of legal Americans in jeopardy.

As a result of Steinle's death, San Francisco changed its sanctuary policies. Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, who was elected in November 2015, reached a compromise with city supervisors, allowing for discretion to notify immigration agents about an inmate if they met a set of criteria based on past convictions.

Lopez-Sanchez was awaiting trial for murder at the time of the article's publication

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez was awaiting trial for murder at the time of the article's publication. He was accused of the murder of 32-year-old Kate Steinle, who was shot in the back while walking with her father along the San Francisco waterfront. Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, had been deported five times previously and was in the US illegally.

Lopez-Sanchez had been released from San Francisco jail rather than being turned over to immigration agents under the city's sanctuary policies. He was on track for a sixth deportation after serving 46 months in prison for felony re-entry into the country.

Lopez-Sanchez's public defender, Matt Gonzalez, argued that the shooting was an accident, stating that the fatal bullet was damaged, indicating it had ricocheted off the ground. However, Lopez-Sanchez himself acknowledged shooting Steinle, although he claimed the gun fired accidentally.

The gun used in the shooting was a pistol stolen from the car of a federal Bureau of Land Management agent in San Francisco four days before the incident. Lopez-Sanchez, who was homeless, claimed he found the gun wrapped in a t-shirt under a bench.

The case sparked a push against the sanctuary policies that led to his release, with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump repeatedly mentioning the killing as he called for a border wall and mass deportations to curb illegal immigration.

Lopez-Sanchez pleaded not guilty in the killing of Steinle, and a trial date was scheduled for December 2016. However, this was postponed, and as of the article's publication, he was awaiting a new trial date.

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