Kate Steinle case: SF residents react to verdict, ‘alt-right’ sets up shrine

Passersby on Pier 14 in San Francisco on December 1, 2017, following the acquittal of Garcia Zarate for the murder of Kate Steinle on July 15, 2015. A memorial was erected the previous evening by a group identifying itself as the "Bay Area Alt Right." less Passersby on Pier 14 in San Francisco on December 1, 2017, following the acquittal of Garcia Zarate for the murder of Kate Steinle on July 15, 2015. A memorial was erected the previous evening by a group ... more Photo: Peter Prato, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Peter Prato, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Kate Steinle case: SF residents react to verdict, ‘alt-right’ sets up shrine 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

Fifty candles flickered in the wind on Friday in San Francisco near the spot on Pier 14 where Kate Steinle took her last walk and whose death set off a national debate over immigration and became fodder for President Trump during his campaign for the White House.

Dozens of red and white roses and other flowers were piled on a bench. Some had notes attached to them, and some of those notes were sad, angry, confused and troubled, reflecting the complexities of a homicide case that riveted the Bay Area and the nation. Much of the shrine appeared to have been started by a self-proclaimed “alt-right” group.

“I think Trump should keep his mouth shut,” said Barbara Belloli, 78, of San Francisco. “(It was) a fair trial.”

The president lost little time in firing off Twitter messages that called the verdict “disgraceful” and a “complete travesty of justice.”

On Thursday, at the end of the trial that started on Oct. 23, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges in the killing of the 32-year-old San Francisco woman. The defendant, a homeless and undocumented Mexican immigrant, had been deported from the United States five times and was awaiting a sixth deportation.

The small shrine, assembled on a wooden bench at the foot of Pier 14, grew larger and larger as passersby stopped to gaze at the spot where Steinle had collapsed in her father’s arms from a bullet that ricocheted off the concrete ground.

People left cards, scrawled words on a poster and took photographs. Four U.S. flags of different sizes fluttered in the breeze.

Some passersby said the verdict was fair. Others said it wasn’t. Some said Garcia Zarate was a killer and some said he was a scapegoat.

“Tolerant...that’s the standard of how things should be,” said Gary Kleiman, 64, of Marin County, passing by after getting off a ferry. “We should show empathy for others in different conditions. If the (jury) finds him innocent of murder, who’s anybody to say?”

Lisa Lea, 42, of San Francisco, said the gunman “shouldn’t be here.”

“I definitely feel the system failed her,” Lea said of Steinle. “This is a guy who’s been deported.”

Her partner, Tom Chu, 44, said he understood the jury’s verdict.

“It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback, without being in the jury room,” he said. “When I look at the news, everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon, not knowing what’s going on. It’s such a tragic story, and then the president had to tweet.”

Jogger Lynda Moyer, 46, of San Francisco stopped alongside the bench in her running outfit and said the verdict seemed to say that San Francisco was “soft on crime.”

“Something like this, a guy who shouldn’t be on the streets, it just saddens me,” she said. “I love the diversity of this city and I don’t want that to change. I do think if you committed a crime we need to be stronger on the penalties. When you look at the history of this guy, how did he fall through the cracks?”

Behind the bench, on a poster showing a picture of Steinle, passersby scribbled messages. “Build the wall,” read one, echoing Trump’s call for a wall on the border with Mexico. “RIP,” read another note.

“Such a beautiful young life lost for no reason,” wrote someone else.

“May your memory be eternal, Kate,” wrote another mourner. “San Francisco let you down.”

As the day wore on, the shrine grew. Some of the candles blew out in the wind, but others replaced them. More people brought more flowers.

One man, who identified himself only as Reno, pedaled up on his bike and left a yellow and orange bouquet.

“Somebody messed up on this case,” he said. “This is a shame. Not guilty is a shame.”

Faye Guarienti, 76, and her husband Rich, 79, of Dublin, strolled by.

“Yes, he (Garcia Zarate) should not have been here. But you can’t build a wall to keep everyone out. We’re not that country,” Faye Guarienti said.

Marilyn Kennick of San Francisco said Garcia Zarate should have been convicted of the killing and said the acquittal was a “rough deal” that put San Francisco “in a bad light.”

But Richard Polich, 66, of San Francisco, said he thought there would at least be a charge related to firing a gun, but said it didn’t seem there was enough evidence to prove murder.

“I never thought they’d find him guilty of murder,” he said. “I wasn’t there, but I’m sure they made the right decision.”

Jenna Lyons and Steve Rubenstein are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com, srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno, @SteveRubeSF