Undocumented immigrant acquitted in death of Kate Steinle

A jury on Thursday found undocumented immigrant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate not guilty of homicide charges in the July 2015 shooting death of Kate Steinle, 32, at San Francisco's Pier 14.

Garcia Zarate, 45, was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. A Mexican citizen, he had been deported from the United States five times before July 2015. Prior to the shooting, he was released from San Francisco police custody but was not transferred to immigration authorities.

The jury was tasked with deciding if Garcia Zarate had shot Steinle unintentionally or committed murder, CNN reports, with prosecutors arguing he fired a gun into the crowd on purpose and the defense saying he found the gun at the pier and it accidentally discharged after he picked it up. President Trump mentioned the case several times during his 2016 campaign, railing against undocumented immigrants and San Francisco being a so-called "sanctuary city."

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