The seven-time felon, five-time deported illegal alien acquitted for 32-year-old Kate Steinle’s murder in 2017 will not stand trial on federal gun charges after a California court has deemed him mentally ill.
Following Steinle’s 2015 killing on a pier in San Francisco, illegal alien Jose Garcia Zarate was charged with her murder after being caught on surveillance footage running from the shooting. After his arrest, Zarate admitted to shooting and killing Steinle, who was walking on the pier at the time with her father, saying he chose San Francisco because it was a sanctuary city that shields criminal illegal aliens from arrest and deportation by federal immigration officials.
Now, after his acquittal of Steinle’s murder, Zarate is facing federal criminal charges for illegal possession of a firearm. Zarate has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Records from last week reveal that a California court is declaring Zarate mentally ill and thus unable to stand trial for the charges, as FOX 5 San Diego reported:
Key House committee advances nationwide voter ID bill, setting up 2026 election fight
What the timing of the FBI’s image release suggests in the Nancy Guthrie case: crime insider
Dem senator fumes that GOP’s foreign funding claim ‘delegitimizes’ anger of anti-ICE agitators in US
Susan Collins shrugs off attacks by Democrats and Trump, says Maine voters ‘Don’t vote party line’
DOJ Unredacts Alleged Epstein Co-Conspirators After Pressure from Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna
Leavitt brushes off Lutnick–Epstein heat with list of administration wins media ignored before ending briefing
Media Reporting Trump’s Tariffs Cost Americans $1,000, But They’re Ignoring Overall Savings of His Policies
Senate GOP investigating Pritzker administration over Illinois health records breach
Major charity raises legal questions by funding pro-Harris dark money operation
Fulton County FBI raid prompted by Trump 2020 election lawyer’s criminal referral
AI power players pour cash into competitive primaries as 2026 midterms heat up
Grassley says secret subpoenas for lawmakers’ call logs undercut congressional protections
Shutdown clock ticks as Schumer, Democrats dig in on DHS funding demands
Multiple dead after shooting inside gated Florida community: sheriff’s office
Watch: Acting ICE Director Thwarts Eric Swalwell’s ‘Gotcha Question’ During Hearing
A court evaluator concluded Jose Ines Garcia Zarate is not competent to stand trial on federal gun charges “because of a mental illness that is not presently being treated,” according to a court document from the US District Court in California. [Emphasis added]
…
“If neither side disputes the evaluator’s conclusion, the Court wishes to explore … what efforts should be made locally to restore the defendant to competency through proper medication, as opposed to sending the defendant to a federal facility outside California,” according to court documents dated February 14. [Emphasis added]
The defense and prosecution are set to meet this week to discuss the matter.
Illegal aliens facing trial, as Breitbart News has chronicled, increasingly have used the defense of being insane, mentally ill, and mentally disabled to escape maximum sentences for murder.
Key House committee advances nationwide voter ID bill, setting up 2026 election fight
What the timing of the FBI’s image release suggests in the Nancy Guthrie case: crime insider
Dem senator fumes that GOP’s foreign funding claim ‘delegitimizes’ anger of anti-ICE agitators in US
Susan Collins shrugs off attacks by Democrats and Trump, says Maine voters ‘Don’t vote party line’
DOJ Unredacts Alleged Epstein Co-Conspirators After Pressure from Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna
Leavitt brushes off Lutnick–Epstein heat with list of administration wins media ignored before ending briefing
Media Reporting Trump’s Tariffs Cost Americans $1,000, But They’re Ignoring Overall Savings of His Policies
Senate GOP investigating Pritzker administration over Illinois health records breach
Major charity raises legal questions by funding pro-Harris dark money operation
Fulton County FBI raid prompted by Trump 2020 election lawyer’s criminal referral
AI power players pour cash into competitive primaries as 2026 midterms heat up
Grassley says secret subpoenas for lawmakers’ call logs undercut congressional protections
Shutdown clock ticks as Schumer, Democrats dig in on DHS funding demands
Multiple dead after shooting inside gated Florida community: sheriff’s office
Watch: Acting ICE Director Thwarts Eric Swalwell’s ‘Gotcha Question’ During Hearing
In the case of illegal alien Wilbur Ernesto Martinez-Guzman — accused of murdering four Americans in Reno, Nevada — the defense is expected to claim that Martinez-Guzman is “mentally disabled” to avoid the death penalty if he is convicted.
Likewise, the 34-year-old illegal alien Apolinar Altamirano, an alleged self-proclaimed member of the Sinaloa Cartel, accused of murdering 21-year-old gas station clerk Grant Ronnenbeck in cold blood in January 2015, will not be eligible for the death penalty after he successfully got himself declared “intellectually disabled.”
Story cited here.
