Federal Grand Jury Indicts Kate Steinle Killer

In a shock verdict decision just over a week ago, illegal alien Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was found “not guilty” in the murder of 32-year old Katie Steinle, whom he shot and killed in 2015. The verdict quickly produced outrage, especially from numerous figures in the White House, including spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders and President Donald Trump himself.

As we reported at the time, even though he wasn’t found guilty of murder, there was still a chance that Zarate would find himself behind bars. That’s because, according to a warrant issued by the U.S. District Court for the western district of Texas, Zarate was subject to supervised released beginning March 26th, 2015. That probation barred him from committing another crime and from possessing a firearm – terms he was obviously bound by when he killed Steinle.

However, ICE also said that they had planned on deporting Zarate (for the sixth time), and it was unclear if that would conflict with implementing any legal consequences available. According to the Conservative Tribune, it’s looking like Zarate could be residing in the U.S. a while longer – behind bars.

On Tuesday a federal grand jury indicted Jose Ines Garcia Zarate on immigration and weapons charges, giving prosecutors a new crack at the five-time-deported illegal immigrant who was acquitted last month of murder.

The jury specifically indicted Garcia Zarate “for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and for being an illegally present alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition,” according to a statement by the Department of Justice.
If convicted, Garcia Zarate — also known by the alias Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez — would face up to 10 years in federal prison, in addition to whatever state prison sentence he receives when he appears in court Dec. 12 to be sentenced for a weapons conviction he obtained in the Steinle case.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions likewise released a statement slamming jurisdictions that “choose to return criminal aliens to the streets rather than turning them over to federal immigration authorities.”
However, DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores made it clear the department intended to review the case to see what it could do.
“We’re looking at every option and we will prosecute this to the fullest extent of the law because these cases are tragic and entirely preventable,” she said at the time.
But since the principle of “double jeopardy” prevents the government from trying Garcia Zarate on the same charges as before, the DOJ has instead brought immigration and weapons charges against him.

Zarate will not be going to jail for as long as he should be, or for the charge he should’ve been found guilty of, but some justice will be served. Don’t be fooled for a minute in thinking that Zarate would have seen prison time under another administration.

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By Matt

Matt is the co-founder of Unbiased America and a freelance writer specializing in economics and politics. He’s been published... More about Matt

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