the man accused of shooting a young woman dead on a popular pier had served 181 months in federal prisons and been deported five times. but san francisco<u+2019>s sheriff saw fit to free him.









across the top of the letter, the man neatly lettered the words <u+201c>motion to correct sentence<u+201d> and <u+201c>united states v. juan francisco lopez-sanchez.<u+201d> he is listed in this and most of his other court cases by that name and in others as juan jose dominguez-de la parra. his real name is said by federal authorities to most likely be jose inez garcia zarate. the authorities are not sure which of the various dates of birth he has provided is accurate.









as lopez-sanchez, dob 12/12/1980, he reminded the court in this letter from a federal correctional facility in missouri that he was serving 51 months in federal prison for illegal reentry to the united states. he had also been sentenced to an added 21 months for violating the terms of his supervised release after a 1998 conviction for a previous illegal reentry.









he wrote to the court that it was his understanding the 51 months and the 21 months were to be served concurrently. but prison officials were now trying to tell him the sentences were supposed to be consecutive.









just three months later, this man who had written of his desire to return to his own country was arrested in eagle pass, texas, for once again leaving it to slip into the united states.









he was sentenced to another 46 months, to be followed by 21 months of supervised release, as before. his total time in federal pens stood at 181 months<u+2014>or a little more than 15 years<u+2014>as he neared the end of his latest sentence.









this march 23 letter was written by the san francisco sheriff<u+2019>s department. the letter<u+2014>first reported by the san francisco chronicle<u+2014>said lopez-sanchez was wanted on an outstanding $5,000 bench warrant arising from a 1995 bust for selling $20 of marijuana to an undercover cop in that city. the federal prison authorities were asked to notify the sheriff<u+2019>s office <u+201c>when the subject is ready for pick-up.<u+201d>









lopez-sanchez was at a federal detention facility in san bernardino county near los angeles. the san francisco sheriff<u+2019>s department took custody of him three days later, on march 26. the feds are said to have asked the sheriff<u+2019>s people to notify them prior to his release on the pot case.









the real aim of the letter he had written to the court back in 2007 was to return to his country as soon as possible so he could then slip back into america even at the risk of yet another heavy prison term.









he now found himself at liberty in sanctuary city, for once with no need to worry about being deported as long as he stayed in san francisco.









he could have remained as snug as a citizen if he had not made everybody wish he had been deported by allegedly picking up a .40 caliber pistol that had been stolen from a car on june 27. the pistol belonged to a federal u.s. bureau of land management ranger who had duly reported the theft.









another gun was brandished by the thug who pulled up in a bmw, hopped out, and pistol-whipped as well as robbed two tv news crews that had come to cover the shooting on pier 14.









a memorial for kate steinle was held on thursday. family and friends told stories of an adventurous, exuberant, and uncommonly kind young woman. they had a phrase for the sunny, uplifting impact she seemed to have on everybody, wherever her wide travels took her:
the murder shaking san francisco<u+2019>s liberal soul
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