SAN FRANCISCO — A judge ruled Friday that a man at the center of the national immigration debate must stand trial on a murder charge in the shooting of a young San Francisco woman.
Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, 45, is charged with second-degree murder in the July 1 killing of 32-year-old Kate Steinle as she walked with her father and a family friend along the San Francisco waterfront. He could face life in prison if convicted.
Lopez-Sanchez acknowledged shooting Steinle but said the gun he found under a bench had fired accidentally. Prosecutors disagreed.
"He could have fired the gun anywhere, but he fired at Kate Steinle," prosecutor Diane Garcia said in court. "He played his own version of Russian roulette."
Public defender Matt Gonzalez said his client never pulled the trigger. Instead, he says Lopez-Sanchez found the gun wrapped in a T-shirt and it accidentally went off as he picked up the bundle.
Judge Brendan Conroy said he heard enough evidence over a five-day preliminary hearing to warrant a jury trial for Lopez-Sanchez, who has pleaded not guilty.