Justice Department considering federal charges in Steinle case – By Avery Anapol (thehill.com) / Dec 1 2017
The Justice Department is considering federal charges against the undocumented immigrant charged in the death of Kate Steinle.
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was acquitted by a jury Thursday of murder and manslaughter in the 2015 shooting but was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said Friday on “Fox & Friends” that the department is considering federal charges against Zarate.
“We’re looking at every option and we will prosecute this to the fullest extent available under the law because these cases are tragic and entirely preventable,” Sarah Isgur Flores, the DOJ Director of Public Affairs, said.
Flores said that the department is looking at other cases to determine what charges they would pursue, but possibilities include felony reentry and violating supervised release.
Steinle was fatally shot by Zarate, who had been deported to Mexico five times, while walking along the San Francisco waterfront
“This is a person who had been deported five times and kept returning … he knew about their sanctuary policies. This is a person who never should have been on that pier, and Kate Steinle would still be alive today if he hadn’t been.”
Flores’ comments come after President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions both slammed the not guilty verdict, with Sessions focusing on sanctuary city policies.
“When jurisdictions choose to return criminal aliens to the streets rather than turning them over to federal immigration authorities, they put the public’s safety at risk,” Sessions said in a statement after the verdict.
Trump lashed out at the verdict Thursday night, calling it “disgraceful.”
“A disgraceful verdict in the Kate Steinle case! No wonder the people of our Country are so angry with Illegal Immigration,” Trump tweeted.
PB/TK – What I don’t get is, after many experts stated the bullet ricocheted off the concrete, why did prosecutors still go with the manslaughter conviction? Sure Zarate is gonna get close to 3 years in jail for illegal firearms possession but why not involuntarily manslaughter charge instead, which would’ve had a higher chance of conviction
