Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, the 45-year-old illegal alien who confessed to fatally shooting 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco last week, used more than 30 aliases throughout his life of crime, government sources tell The Daily Caller.
Lopez-Sanchez’s record, which stretches back nearly 25 years, shows three lengthy federal prison sentences for felony illegal re-entry. It also shows that on many occasions, Lopez-Sanchez was deported back to Mexico only to illegally re-enter the U.S. within days.
Steinle’s murder, which occurred on San Francisco’s Pier 14 last Wednesday, has elicited a firestorm of criticism over the U.S.’s immigration laws as well as those on the books in San Francisco. Lopez-Sanchez was released by the sheriff’s department there in April even though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had placed a detainer request for him. The sheriff’s department ignored the request because San Francisco is a sanctuary city, which means that it refuses to honor federal immigration law.
Criminal History
According to information provided by the anonymous government sources, Lopez-Sanchez entered the U.S. illegally for the first time before May 1991. His first documented interaction with U.S. courts came on May 13 of that year when he was convicted of inhaling toxic vapors. He was sentenced to one year in jail and sentenced to five years’ probation.
Feb. 2, 1993: Lopez-Sanchez is convicted of felony heroin possession in Washington state criminal court and sentenced to 21 days in jail.
May 12, 1993: Convicted of felony narcotics manufacturing in Washington and sentenced to nine months in jail.
Nov. 2, 1993: Convicted of felony heroin possession in Pierce County, Wash. and sentenced to four months in jail.
June 9, 1994: Convicted of misdemeanor imitation controlled substance in Multnomah, Ore. and ordered to pay a fine.
June 10, 1994: Lopez-Sanchez is arrested by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the forerunner to ICE, and convicted of a controlled substance violation and an aggravated felony. A federal immigration judge orders him deported on June 20, and he is removed to Mexico.
July 14, 1994: Lopez-Sanchez illegally re-enters the U.S. after his first deportation and falls into the hands of Arizona state authorities. His probation is revoked and he is sentenced to 93 days in jail.
July 11, 1996: Lopez-Sanchez is arrested in Washington and convicted of felony heroin possession. He is sentenced to 12 months, plus one day in prison.
March 12, 1997: INS arrests Lopez-Sanchez on an Order to Show Cause and charges him as a deportable alien because of his illegal re-entry and his aggravated felony conviction. He is deported back to Mexico for the second time on April 4, 1997.
July 22, 1997: Lopez-Sanchez is arrested in Arizona for his first known act of violence on an assault and threatening/intimidation charge. Government sources are unsure of the outcome of this case.
Jan. 13, 1998: Lopez-Sanchez is arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Two days later, an immigration judge orders him removed, and he is deported for the third time on Feb. 2 of that year.
Feb. 8, 1998: Lopez-Sanchez illegally re-enters the U.S. six days after his previous deportation but is apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol.
Sept. 3, 1998: He is convicted of felony re-entry in U.S. District Court and sentenced to 63 months in prison.
Feb. 20, 2003: Seemingly at the end of his prison sentence, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons hands Lopez-Sanchez over to INS. He is deported again to Mexico on March 6.
July 4, 2003: Lopez-Sanchez again illegally re-enters the U.S. and is apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol, this time in Texas.
Nov. 7, 2003: Lopez-Sanchez is convicted of two federal charges — re-entry after removal and violation of a supervised federal release. He is sentenced to 51 months and 21 months for the charges, respectively.
June 29, 2009: After a lengthy prison sentence, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons hands Lopez-Sanchez over to ICE. He is immediately deported to Mexico.
Sept. 20, 2009: Lopez-Sanchez again re-enters the U.S. illegally. This time he is arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Eagle Pass, Tex.
Oct. 14, 2009: A U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas files for a re-indictment of Lopez-Sanchez for illegal re-entry after removal. He is charged in Sept. 2010, for violating federal probation.
May 12, 2011: Lopez-Sanchez is sentenced to 46 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release for illegal re-entry and probation violations. Two months later, ICE places a detainer request with the Bureau of Prisons upon his release from prison. In Oct. 2013, ICE’s Southern California Security Communities Support Center places a similar detainer request with the Bureau of Prisons.
March 26, 2015: After serving his sentence in federal prison in Victorville, Cal., Lopez-Sanchez is released and handed over directly to the San Francisco sheriff’s department, which had a warrant out for felony sale of marijuana. The next day, ICE received an automatic electronic notification that Lopez-Sanchez had been placed into the custody of the San Francisco sheriff’s department. ICE then placed a detainer request with the sheriff to be notified prior to Lopez-Sanchez’s release.
April 15, 2015: The San Francisco sheriff’s department releases Lopez-Sanchez from its custody without notifying ICE.
July 1, 2015: Lopez-Sanchez allegedly shoots Steinle on San Francisco’s Pier 14 as she is walking with her father and a friend. Steinle dies. Lopez-Sanchez is arrested soon after.
