San Francisco pier shooter seeks dismissal of gun charge

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Mexican national who touched off a fierce immigration debate over his role in the shooting death of a woman walking on a San Francisco pier is seeking to overturn his felony gun possession conviction. It was the only charge he was found guilty of after a jury acquitted him of murder.

Lawyers for Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate filed the expected appeal last week.

Garcia-Zarate says he didn't know he was holding a gun when it fired and fatally struck Kate Steinle in the back as she walked with her father on the pier in 2015.

He says he found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt on the pier and it accidentally fired.

Garcia-Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation at the time.