Garcia Zarate now faces felony charges for possessing a gun and bullets and for being "an illegally present alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition," according to a press release from the Department of Justice's Northern District of California.
The indictment charges Garcia Zarate, 47, with handling a semi-automatic pistol and multiple rounds of ammunition on July 1, 2015, the day Steinle was shot and killed on San Francisco's Pier 14.
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Officials said the indictment "merely alleges that a crime has been committed and Garcia Zarate, like all defendants, is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
Garcia Zarate faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted of either felony charge.
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