Teen wanted for deportation is accused of California killing

The shooting also ignited a national debate on sanctuary city policies that bar local police from co-operating with federal immigration authorities unless they are seeking suspects convicted or charged with violent crimes.

Authorities say Garcia-Pineda had been detained by immigration authorities in December and released from custody in April pending deportation. In addition to wearing the ankle monitor, the judge required him to routinely check in with immigration officials.

He failed to show up for his August appointment, said James Schwab, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE said a contractor received a tamper alert on Aug. 19 but authorities couldn’t find him. ICE told the man’s attorney that his client should report to them immediately.

The sheriff’s department says Garcia-Pineda was wearing the ankle bracelet when he was arrested on Sept. 3 on misdemeanour battery charges and deputies removed it. ICE says the Sheriff’s Department ignored a request to block his release from jail that day.

Investigators later connected Garcia-Pineda to the killing of 23-year-old Abel Esquivel during a robbery.

ICE agents also asked the local sheriff in May to detain a second man arrested locally who is also charged with Esquivel’s murder, Jesus Perez-Araujo, 24.

San Francisco police arrested Perez-Araujo for possession of marijuana and illegal possession of brass knuckles. He was ultimately only charged with misdemeanour possession of brass knuckles, court records showed.

Esquivel volunteered at the Central American Resource Center, which provides legal help to low-income Latino clients and other social services.

“We were shocked to hear the weapon belonged to a police officer,” said Lariza Dugan Cuadra, executive director of the centre.

Martin Halloran, president of the police officers’ union, said the officer did not know his vehicle had been broken into until after the shooting.

“There were no visible signs of the burglary,” Halloran said. “The officer, a highly decorated veteran, is devastated.”

In the 2015 killing, Kate Steinle was shot as she walked on a pier crowded with tourists.

The San Francisco sheriff had released José Inez García Zárate from jail several weeks before the Steinle shooting despite a detainer request from ICE.

Zarate acknowledges shooting the gun but said it fired accidentally. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Jury selection for his trial begins Oct. 2 while the debate over sanctuary cities continues.

The Trump administration opposes the policy and has threatened to withhold federal funds to those cities, prompting lawsuits. A federal judge on Friday barred the administration from withholding funding until a lawsuit in Chicago is resolved.

California’s “sanctuary state” bill that would limit police co-operation with federal immigration authorities cleared a major hurdle Friday when it was approved by the state Assembly.

The Senate was scheduled to give final approval to the legislation before lawmakers wrap up the legislative year late Friday or early Saturday.

San Francisco police say Garcia-Pineda and two other young men began driving around the city looking for robbery victims after they stole the gun on Aug. 11.

A police bulletin from 2015 said officers should keep a gun with them when they are in public and that if they are forced to leave a firearm briefly in an unattended vehicle, they must secure the weapon in the locked trunk where it cannot be seen.

Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

Paul Elias, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press