Man acquitted in Kate Steinle murder trial to face federal firearm charges

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- 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 Zatate 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-automaic 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."

TIMELINE: How the Kate Steinle case unfolded

Garcia Zarate faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison if convicted of either felony charge.

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