A jury has reached a verdict in the trial of a Mexican man accused of killing a woman on a San Francisco pier in a case that touched off a national immigration debate.

Jurors alerted the judge Thursday that they had a verdict in the death of Kate Steinle. Word came hours after they asked to see the gun used in the shooting.

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate had been deported five times and was wanted for a sixth deportation when Steinle was fatally shot in the back in 2015. Garcia Zarate said the shooting was an accident.

Under a sanctuary city law, the San Francisco sheriff's department had released Garcia Zarate from jail despite a federal immigration request to detain him for deportation.

President Donald Trump frequently cited the case during his campaign.