A court evaluator has determined that the illegal immigrant acquitted of killing Kate Steinle in 2015 is not mentally competent to stand trial on federal gun charges related to her death.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, a Mexican national who has been deported five times and has multiple criminal convictions, reportedly has a “mental illness that is not presently being treated,” according to court documents .

"If neither side disputes the evaluator's conclusion, the Court wishes to explore ... what efforts should be made locally to restore the defendant to competency through proper medication, as opposed to sending the defendant to a federal facility outside California," court documents dated Friday show.

A follow-up hearing may be required to further determine Garcia Zarate’s competency, according to court documents, and a status conference has been set for Wednesday to explore possible next steps.

Garcia Zarate admitted to holding the gun that fired the bullet which took the life of 32-year-old Kate Steinle on a San Francisco pier in 2015 but claimed that the gun went off accidentally. The gun had been stolen from the vehicle of a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger.

Steinle’s death became a hot-button issue and sparked an increased conversation about sanctuary city laws especially after it was determined that the previously deported Garcia Zarate had been released back onto the streets from police custody in San Francisco shortly before Steinle’s death despite an ICE request to hold him based on his immigration status.

Garcia Zarate was acquitted of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and assault with a deadly weapon but convicted of being a felon in possession of a gun and sentenced to three years in prison.

The conviction was thrown out by a state appeals court last August after it was determined that jurors received inadequate instructions from the trial judge. Garcia Zarate was then federally charged with gun possession in 2017.

Garcia Zarate’s lawyer has said he will dispute the mental competency decision.