By David Codrea
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- “The trial of an undocumented immigrant accused of shooting and killing San Francisco resident Kate Steinle was postponed again Friday, more than two years after Steinle’s death,” The Mercury News “reported” Friday. “But the defendant, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, asserted his right to a speedy trial, meaning that the trial must begin within 60 days. He hasn’t asserted that right before, as he waited for his defense team to collect evidence and prepare a strategy.”
“Reported” is in quotations marks, because referring to a criminal serial invader who has been deported a total of five times and accrued seven felony convictions as a mere “undocumented immigrant” is in itself an editorial deferral to “progressive” political correctness. As for preparing a defense strategy, we can see indications of what will be tried. Public defender Matt Gonzales showed some of his cards in an op-ed earlier this month by blaming the gun.
The Sig Sauer has a history of “accidental discharges,” he claims, due to “no safety lever … an unlabeled decocking lever [and a] hair trigger.” By way of “proof” he offers up a handful of incidents that could best be described as cases of negligence, and does nothing to put things in perspective in terms of the infinitesimal fraction of a percent these anomalies represent vs. overall usage. And contrary to what the anti-armed citizen lobby would have you believe, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act does not absolve manufacturers of liability for defective products.
In any case, the fact that law enforcement officer negligence sometimes causes unplanned discharges is not exactly a secret. I’ve long presented such examples to refute the gun-grabber claim that police are the “Only Ones” who can be trusted with guns. The term was coined when DEA Agent Lee Paige told a classroom full of school children he was “the only one professional enough” to carry a gun and then shot himself in the foot while holstering it. And using NYPD’s heavier mandated trigger pull as a model to be emulated ignores the safety and accuracy problems that has caused.
Besides, the reported gun the documented criminal foreign invader used, the P226, is on the Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale by the State of California Department of Justice, meaning that it “has passed firing, safety, and drop tests.”
On top of that, Lopez-Sanchez admitted firing the gun three times. Perhaps if a “progressive” jury learns he said he was shooting at seals, they’ll put him away for good.
It figures that his attorney is going to do everything he can to create confusion in the minds of a jury that will be required to meet a “beyond a reasonable doubt” evidence standard for a “Guilty” verdict. It’s also apparent that the trial will be taking place in an area where the majority of the populace from which a jury pool will be drawn approves of citizen disarmament and sanctuary for illegal aliens, and will not possess enough knowledge of guns to know they’re being played.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
“The Sig Sauer has a history of “accidental discharges,” he claims, due to “no safety lever…”
This is also the model that has a history of launching itself from the interior of police vehicles into the pockets of innocent pedestrians, isn’t it?
Title 18 Section 924(c). Felon in possession of a firearm. Death resulting in the commission of a felony. No accidental break in; no accidental theft of a firearm by a prohibited person. Any firearm is an inanimate object, incapable of discharging unless someone cocks the trigger putting it into single action mode and dropping it (accidental) or pulling the trigger in either single action or double action mode. A purposeful series of acts. Leave it to a lib to blame the object not the person who acted upon that object.
Hmmm…so given how insane the entire concept of any “santuary” cities or zones to exist under U.S FEDERAL LAW and now recently reading of a Kalifornia ILLEGAL ALIEN being turned over to and apprehended by ICE within the geographical boundaries of one of these “zones”, then being set free and on top of this awarded a large $$$ settlement paid for by the Kalifornia “sanctuary” city’s TAX PAYERS for the “trauma and inconvenience” he suffered in having been turned over to ICE (as per U.S. FEDERAL LAW) and then still not deported per US LAWS. I am curious, could one… Read more »
I have lived in CA 47 yrs, taught at the university that the smart, beautiful young woman attended. Let me assure you all that Californians are outraged by this crime. Although Pres Trump lost the state, many of us supported him financially and campaigned for him. We too are sick of the ignorant efforts by so-called sanctuary cities on behalf of illegal aliens. I have hope for a legitimate verdict in this case. It has already spawned a strong anti-sanctuary sentiment that is responsible in part for Gov Brown’s newfound reluctance to continuing pushing for a “sanctuary state”. Please remember… Read more »
I could solve the border problem for a mere five million dollars per year, no stress, no strain. Here is how: There are five Mexican states that border the US. Go to each Mexican governor with an annual one million dollar bribe. Tell each governor to have a good time with it because I will be back next year with another million dollars bribe, but for each Mexican that sneaks across your Mexican state border illegally into the US, I will deduct ten thousand dollars. Next year you can have a big bribe or a small bribe. It is up… Read more »
Even Jesus said non-complimentary things about lawyers.
Safety rule #1 is don’t point a gun at something you don’t intend to shoot– a corollary of always keep a gun pointed in a safe direction. So the real question in the case is why the gun was pointed at Kate Steinle in the first place. This transcends all the excuses the defense can come up with.
The really sad part is that a Kalifornia jury just might acquit the creep.
Re some of the “failings” alleged failings attributed to the pistol used by this ILLEGAL ALIEN, since when has he become a small arms expert, or does the expertise lie with his defense counsel? The shooter was in this country in violation, repeated vioation it seems, of U.S. Law. HE was also in possession of a STOLEN WEAPON. Some sort of angel or misunderstood kid he wasn’t. Seems as it he has had the benefit of an unconscionable amount of slack, no more being warranted. This clown should be hung, that being the end of this story.
Other aspects aside, there are several interesting ones, the pistol was not a repeat border violator, it was leagally in the country. It did however come into the shooters hands via carelessness on the part of it’s “owner” or the person to whom it was issued, assuming that government owned the weapon in the first place. Also, the shooter had repeatedly violated the border and the laws of this country, such antics being, in no way attributable to the firearm, not even via the strange quirks of the law as it exists in California.