San Francisco, CA
Time served for Mexican in 2015 San Francisco pier killing
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California federal decide on Monday sentenced the Mexican man acquitted of homicide within the 2015 taking pictures demise of a girl on a San Francisco pier to the seven years he is already spent in jail — bringing to a authorized shut the case that ignited a nationwide firestorm over immigration, crime and sanctuary cities.
Jose Inez Garcia Zarate was within the U.S. illegally when Kate Steinle, 32, was fatally shot alongside a crowded Pier 14 the place she was strolling along with her father and a household buddy. He faces deportation and U.S. District Decide Vince Chhabria advised him in court docket to by no means return to the U.S.
The taking pictures shocked a rustic already divided over immigration and fueled Donald Trump’s profitable marketing campaign for president. Trump referred to as for a crackdown on illegal immigration and the sanctuary cities and states — together with San Francisco and California — that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Garcia Zarate admitted firing the gun on July 4, 2015, however stated he discovered it below a bench and did not know what it was when he picked it up as a result of it was wrapped in a T-shirt. The gun fired by chance after he picked it up, he stated. Officers stated the bullet ricocheted off the bottom and hit Steinle.
He was acquitted of murder costs by a San Francisco jury in 2017 however confronted firearms costs in federal court docket. In March, he pleaded responsible to being a felon in possession of a firearm and an individual illegally within the nation in possession of a firearm.
“For those who return to this nation once more and you’re again in entrance of me, I cannot spare you. Let this be your final warning: don’t return to this nation,” Chhabria stated earlier than sentencing Garcia Zarate to the time he has already served.
Chhabria additionally delivered a harsh rebuke of the psychological well being remedy acquired by Garcia Zarate for his schizophrenia whereas in custody, which the decide stated was nearly nonexistent.
Garcia Zarate will likely be despatched to Texas, the place he faces a federal decide for failing to report his location when he was launched from a San Francisco jail shortly earlier than the taking pictures. He had been deported 5 instances and was on monitor to be faraway from the U.S. once more when he shot Steinle.
The utmost sentence on the firearms costs was 10 years. Prosecutors agreed to the sentence of time served plus three years of probation. Garcia Zarate’s attorneys wished a shorter sentence so he might apply any time left over in case the decide in Texas imposes further jail time.
The handgun belonged to a U.S. Bureau of Land Administration ranger who reported it stolen from his parked automotive every week earlier than Steinle was killed.
Earlier than the killing, Garcia Zarate had lately accomplished a jail sentence for unlawful re-entry to the U.S. when he was transferred to San Francisco to face a 20-year-old marijuana cost.
Prosecutors declined the case, however the San Francisco sheriff launched him from jail regardless of a federal immigration request to detain him for not less than two extra days for deportation.
Garcia Zarate “feels horrible about what occurred, and that he’s very sorry and apologizes,” his lawyer, Mike Hinckley, stated in court docket Monday.
The decide stated he doesn’t imagine that prosecutors proved that Garcia Zarate had acted with felony recklessness within the taking pictures and that he seemingly didn’t perceive what was taking place that day when he killed Steinle, due to his psychological well being sickness.
Chhabria additionally expressed sympathy for Garcia Zarate, who spent most of his seven years in county jail with out medicine or significant remedy.
Two medical doctors identified Garcia Zarate with schizophrenia and located him unfit to face trial as a result of he couldn’t comply with the court docket proceedings.
“That should have been hell,” Chhabria stated.
However the decide additionally stated that penalties matter and that Garcia Zarate admitted being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Steinle’s relations weren’t current in court docket for the sentencing and prosecutors stated her household didn’t wish to take part within the proceedings.
Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.
San Francisco, CA
Hayes Valley Quadruple Murder Suspect Convicted on All Counts
Lee Farley, 36, was convicted Friday of shooting and killing four men in the Hayes Valley neighborhood in 2015.
In a statement, prosecutors said that Farley was found guilty of using a rental car from Walnut Creek to perform a drive-by shooting on an idle Honda Civic, firing 18 shots into the vehicle before fleeing.
All four victims died on the scene.
Farley, who initially plead not guilty, was serving time for unrelated charges in 2016 when authorities connected him to the shootings, according to reporting from SFGATE.
“Our strong legal team fought hard, understanding that while nothing we do can bring back their loved ones, that hopefully this verdict brings them some comfort,” said District Attroney Brooke Jenkins in the statement.
Farley is set to be sentenced on Dec. 16.
Photo via X
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants Predicted to Spend This Offseason in Free Agency
The San Francisco Giants are heading into free agency and the offseason as a very interesting team to watch.
It was another disappointing season for the Giants in 2024, as they finished under .500 once again and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
The struggles in San Francisco resulted in a change in the front office, as Buster Posey took over as the President of Baseball Operations.
With the decision to add Posey to the front office, the hope is that he will be able to lure in some of the top caliber free agents that they have been missing out on in recent years.
The Giants haven’t been shy about spending money, but that money hasn’t always went to the right places.
Recently, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report ranked teams in different tiers based on what they will spend this offseason. For San Francisco, he placed them in the tier that will be spending this winter.
“Perhaps the most interesting team on this list is the Giants, with former NL MVP Buster Posey now serving as their president of baseball operations. He’s talked about wanting to figure the shortstop position out, which is why we’ve projected the Giants as the landing spot for Adames. But San Francisco has had a hard time getting star players to sign on the dotted line in recent years, probably due in large part to Oracle Park being seen as a bad place to hit at 81 times a season.”
While the Giants have the desire to sign a superstar and the next face of the franchise, there have been some indications that they might not break the bank this offseason. However, at the same time, they have been linked to some of the top free agents this winter.
Currently, the biggest need for San Francisco is in their lineup. While Juan Soto would be a great addition, him going to the Bay Area seems unlikely. However, a player like Willy Adames or Alex Bregman might be a more realistic target. Neither one of those players would be cheap, but both would instantly upgrade the lineup.
In addition to trying to upgrade the lineup, the Giants also saw Blake Snell decline his player option to become a free agent. Considering how good Snell was in the second half of the season, it will be interesting to see what the plan is to either bring him back or replace him.
While San Francisco will certainly be spending this offseason, the real question will be how much the organization is willing to invest.
San Francisco, CA
Atmospheric river storm causes minor flooding in San Francisco
Some San Francisco roadways and neighborhoods experienced minor flooding Friday as the atmospheric river dumped heavy rain on the city.
Matthew Coric said he was inside his restaurant when all the sudden he noticed water rising outside.
“Water was coming over the curb already and Rainbow Grocery closed for the day because they flooded or started to flood, and the next two restaurants had water in their restaurant already,” said Coric.
Two years ago during another big storm, the entire block flooded with several feet of water.
Coric told KPIX he was determined to not let that happen again, so he and some of his employees grabbed brooms and anything else they could get their hands on and ran towards the flooding.
“These two drains right here on either side of the street, we literally couldn’t see them. This was up above the curb. We were just blindly scraping trying to get it unclogged until we could see the little tornado start,” said Coric.
He said they were able to unclog the drain just in time to stop the water from flooding his restaurant, and that it took about 30 minutes for the water to fully recede.
While he is happy they were able to avoid another crisis, he said he wishes the city would have been monitoring the area so that he and his employees didn’t have to fix it on their own.
“It flooded two years ago, and then last year the city was like high alert. They would park their trucks out here and make sure nothing happened. But now it’s been two years, they forgot about us again and same thing happened,” said Coric.
He said, from now on when it rains, he’s going to monitor the drains himself and step in anytime he sees them getting clogged.
He recommends that others in areas where flooding happens do the same.
“If you’re out on the street, anybody right, and you see the drain overflowing, I know if you can wait for the city that’s great, but it might not come. Just clean it yourself or get somebody that can just to save everybody a bunch of headaches,” said Coric.
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