A California court on Friday overturned the conviction of an undocumented illegal immigrant, who shot Kate Steinle in San Francisco in 2015.
It was ruled by the 1st District Court of Appeals that the judge in the trial made a mistake by not giving the jury “the momentary possession instruction."
“It is undisputed that defendant was holding the gun when it fired. But that fact alone does not establish he possessed the gun for more than a moment. To possess the gun, defendant had to know he was holding it," the appellate court wrote.
The immigrant, Jose Ines Garcia-Zarate, who had been deported five times before the shooting, touched off a fierce immigration debate over his role in the shooting death of Steinle. His defense attorneys said that the shooting was unintentional. That he found the gun and it accidentally discharged. The bullet ricocheted off of the ground and struck Steinle as she was walking, with her father.
Garcia-Zarate now faces immigration and gun charges and may be tried locally on a state gun charge, according to his attorneys.