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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 bullet that killed 32-year-old Steinle while she walked with her father and a family friend on Pier 14 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero in 2015. The killing became part of a national conversation about immigration when Donald Trump used it support his presidential campaign pitch for tougher immigration policies.
Garcia-Zarate’s case has had many twists and turns in both state and federal court.
He was first tried in a state court proceeding initiated by San Francisco’s District Attorney Office.
On November 30, 2017 he was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm — a semi-automatic weapon — but was acquitted on homicide charges by a jury that apparently accepted the defendant’s argument that the shooting resulted from an accidental discharge of a gun he found wrapped in cloth on the pier.
The gun was the secondary duty weapon of a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger, who’d had it stolen after he placed the firearm in a backpack under the seat of his SUV while in San Francisco with his family. Prosecutors did not present any evidence to argue Garcia-Zarate originally stole the gun, merely that he possessed it and fired the shot that killed Steinle.
After his trial in state court, Garcia-Zarate was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2017 on federal weapons charges.
On appeal from his state law conviction, the state court of appeals reversed. However, federal proceedings were not affected by the state court ruling and they went forward upon Garcia-Zarate’s release from state court custody.
In 2020, on the eve of trial in federal court, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ordered that Garcia-Zarate be evaluated to determine whether he was “suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense.”
On October 19, 2020, following evaluation by court-appointed psychiatrists, the judge determined Garcia-Zarate was not competent to stand trial. The judge found “that Garcia-Zarate lacks a rational understanding of the proceedings against him and is unable to consult with his lawyers in a meaningful fashion, such that he is not competent to stand trial.”
The doctors testified that Garcia-Zarate had schizophrenia.
The judge said that based on his own observation, “Garcia-Zarate’s speech and responses to questions were frequently off-topic or nonsensical, and he demonstrated no understanding of the charges against him.”
The judge noted that Garcia-Zarate had indicated that he wanted to plead guilty, but the judge also found that he was not competent to make that decision because “because 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.”
The judge said that the doctors believed there was a possibility that Garcia-Zarate would improve if he was treated with antipsychotic medication. He then ordered that Garcia-Zarate receive that treatment.
In June 2021, the Bureau of Prisons informed the judge that “it had restored the defendant to competency.” However, on re-arraignment in August 2021, the judge ordered a new competency evaluation because of concerns about whether Garcia-Zarate was competent and also whether or not he was taking his medication.
On Feb. 16, 2022, the judge reported that after being restored to competency at the Bureau of Prisons facility, Garcia-Zarate had been transferred to Santa Rita Jail to be held pending trial.
However, Garcia-Zarate was not given his medications at that facility and was subsequently determined by the doctors to no longer be competent.
Garcia-Zarate was then moved to Marin County jail where he received his meds and was again restored to competency.
The court held a hearing Monday to consider Garcia-Zarate’s stated desire to change his plea.
At the hearing, Garcia-Zarate pleaded guilty to the two weapons counts.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 6, 2022 and Garcia-Zarate remains incarcerated pending the sentencing.
Each count bears a maximum of 10 years in prison with three years of supervised release.
