Mexican National’s lawyer defends his second degree murder by blaming the gun
Attorneys for an undocumented immigrant facing charges in the high-profile death of a woman on San Francisco’s Pier 14 contend it may be the gun’s fault.
Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, 45, a Mexican national with at least five deportations under his belt, contends he shot Kathryn Steinle by accident with a found gun now tied to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. California Superior Court Judge Brendan P. Conroy on Friday found there is enough evidence for Lopez-Sanchez to stand trial on charges of second-degree murder for his alleged involvement in the woman’s death.
However, his legal team contends that the man never pulled the trigger and claimed the type of handgun involved is documented for having accidental discharges.
Public defender Matt Gonzalez said the .40 caliber Glock has no safety, and stated, “There is no evidence that he put his finger in the trigger.”
Kathryn Steinle was killed from one of three rounds fired while taking a walk with her father on the San Fransisco Pier on July 1st. Police divers found the gun off the pier near the scene. A BLM ranger was in the city on business 4 days before Steinle was murdered and called to report his weapon missing.
Lopez-Sanchez was charged originally with firearm enhancement and first-degree murder 5 days after Steinle was killed. He admitted in a prison interview to shooting Steinle but stuck to what he says about finding the gun wrapped in a shirt on a bench near the murder. Lopez-Sanchez told reporters in broken english that he was high on sleeping pills and marijuana when he shot the 32 year old woman.
Prosecutors are saying this was murder, maintaining that it was “executed willfully, unlawfully and with malice.” Bond started at 10 million until defense lawyer Gonzalez convinced the court to lower it to 5 million by stating the murder was accidental.
The family of Steinle are suing for damage claims from the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, BLM, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, claiming the gun was left in plain view and was loaded in the ranger’s car.
This story is enraging, the whole “it’s the gun’s fault” argument has infiltrated its way into our justice department. The fact that bail was reduced 5 million dollars with this joke of an argument and that its even continued is a mockery of our courts.
That same argument has been running around in politics and gun control arguments across America for some time now, but it is such a ludicrous statement its surprising it is still around. To blame a gun for a murder is like blaming the spoon for obesity. Its like blaming a tool that clearly is inanimate for doing something by itself. It is laughable that grown educated adults are taking this stance on guns.
Guns don’t just set off, it takes a human to operate it and pull the trigger for the discharge to happen. Especially in this case, with this being a Glock. Glocks has three independently operating, passive, mechanical safeties, so there is no possibility that Lopez-Sanchez was just hanging around the gun when it fired randomly and shot Steinle. And this is being considered as a valid judicial argument in our courts?
This should be met with outrage and protestors. What should be examined here is how this undocumented immigrant is still running around freely in our country, after being deported 5 times, his last felony being in Texas. This is the real problem here. Does a gun in a clearly marked BLM vehicle automatically mean that it should be stolen and used for murder? Even if a gun was sitting on someone’s porch in plain view, does that mean that a passerby can steal it and then feel free to use it in a murder, and the owner be punished? Yes people need to be more responsible with their weapons, we unfortunately live in that society now, but it doesn’t mean that our laws can start flipping the blame on perpetrators and innocents.
It feels like up is down in our justice system increasingly. This whole case seems to be leaning towards gun control as the solution, not what it actually needs to be. If this case wins, it would be a victory for anti-gun supporters everywhere. Our rights are starting to be choked where the logic and brains should be, in our justice systems, and the outcry should be heard across America for those that support the Second Amendment.
