(CNN) A California appeals court has overturned a gun conviction for an undocumented immigrant acquitted in the 2015 shooting death of Kate Steinle in San Francisco.

The court reversed a 2017 verdict that found Jose Inez Garcia Zarate guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, saying the court erred in not instructing jurors of an option to acquit him.

Steinle's shooting death in July of 2015 sparked national debate over sanctuary cities and became a rallying cry for then-candidate Donald Trump on the campaign trail.

At trial, Garcia Zarate said he had picked up an object wrapped in rags and didn't know a gun was inside. When it went off, he dropped the gun in the water off the pier where he had been sitting, according to a court document.

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