Accused San Francisco Pier Shooter Should Have Been Deported: Immigration Officials
The man accused of gunning down a 32-year-old Pleasanton woman while she was out strolling San Francisco's Embarcadero with her father was in a Bay Area jail less than four months ago and should have been turned over to federal immigration officials upon his release, instead of being set free, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
But that's not the way the San Francisco County Sheriff's Legal Counsel Freya Horne sees it. In an interview Friday with NBC Bay Area, she said the city and county of San Francisco are sanctuaries for immigrants, and they do not turn over undocumented people – if they don't have active warrants out for them – simply because immigration officials want them to.
Meanwhile, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr said Francisco Sanchez, who was arrested following the Wednesday evening shooting of Kathryn Steidle, along Pier 14 has "made an admission" with regards to the seemingly random death in the middle of a populated part of town....
Sanchez, who law enforcement say is either 45 or 46 and has about a dozen aliases, was taken into custody after witnesses described him to police. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he is an undocumented immigrant with a long criminal history who has previously been deported to Mexico five times, the last time in 2008...
Kice told NBC Bay Area on Friday that Sanchez should have been returned to her agency's custody, because he had a "detainer" on his status in jail.
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Federal records show Sanchez has seven prior felony convictions, four of which were for drug charges. Records indicate his convictions took place in states including Texas, Oregon and Arizona. And a law enforcement source said the case that landed Sanchez in San Francisco jail most recently was for a marijuana case that was about 20 years old.
Police have described the shooting as random, as she was not robbed and never even exchanged words with the man who killed her. Kathryn Steinle's father, Jim Steinle, said she was taken in the prime of her life. "She had so much to live for and died so senselessly,” he said Thursday. “It’s terrible.”...
San Francisco Police Officer Grace Gatpandan Gatpandan added that San Francisco is a "sanctuary city, so we do not hand over people to ICE." She also said that the police are "not responsible" for Sanchez once he is booked into county jail, "meaning we do not have control over his release."
Sanctuary cities, which are dotted throughout the United States, don't inquire about an immigrant's status for the federal government. It has no legal meaning, but is a de facto practice of a particular city.
San Francisco's particular ordinance is called the "Due Process Ordinance for All on Civil Immigration Detainers."
