Undocumented felon acquitted in Kate Steinle murder trial to face federal firearm charges

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Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Man acquitted in Kate Steinle murder trial to face federal firearm charges
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was found not guilty of murder in the death of San Francisco woman Kate Steinle, but a grand jury has other plans for the controversial defendant, indicting him on new charges.

SAN FRANCISCO, California -- Jose Ines Garcia Zarate was found not guilty of murder in the death of Kate Steinle last week, but a grand jury has other plans for the controversial defendant, indicting him on new charges.

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.

RELATED: How the Kate Steinle case unfolded

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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