Immigrant Acquitted Of San Francisco Killing Sentenced On Lesser Gun Charge : The Two
Ines Garcia Zarate
Jose Ines Garcia Zarate   a homeless undocumented immigrant  who was acquitted of murder in the shooting death of San Francisco resident Kate Steinle on a city pier  was sentenced to time already served for being a felon in possession of a gun.
 Zarate  had faced a maximum sentence of three years for  his  conviction on the state charge of being a felon in possession of a gun.  He 's been in custody for about 30 months since  his  arrest for killing Steinle as she was walking arm-in-arm with her father.
Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng denied a defense motion for a new trial on the gun possession charge.  Zarate 's public defenders had argued that the judge did not properly instruct the jury on the issue that the defendant may have had only "momentary" possession of the gun and therefore did not commit a crime.
The jury of six men and six women decided in November that  Zarate  had not intentionally killed Steinle after hearing evidence that the single  fatal shot fired had ricocheted off the ground and travelled about 78 feet before striking her. The defense had argued that  Zarate  found the gun in a cloth under  his  bench seat and the gun accidentally discharged.
 Zarate  had been deported five times and was slated to be removed from the United States again in early 2015 when  he  was transferred by federal authorities to San Francisco to face a local 20-year-old marijuana charge. That charge eventually was dropped and local authorities released  him  in accordance with San Francisco's sanctuary-city policies. Steinle's death occurred several weeks later.
A week after  his  acquittal   Zarate  was indicted on two federal charges of being a felon and undocumented immigrant in possession of a firearm and ammunition. San Francisco authorities say they will turn  Garcia Zarate  over to federal immigration authorities  although it is not immediately clear as to when. The federal gun charges carry a penalty of up to ten years in prison  after which â if  he  were convicted â  he  presumably would be deported.
[TGT] a homeless undocumented immigrant  who was acquitted of murder in the shooting death of San Francisco resident Kate Steinle on a city pier  was sentenced to time already served for being a felon in possession of a gun.
  [TGT] had faced a maximum sentence of three years for   [TGT]   conviction on the state charge of being a felon in possession of a gun.   [TGT]  's been in custody for about 30 months since   [TGT]   arrest for killing Steinle as she was walking arm-in-arm with her father.
Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng denied a defense motion for a new trial on the gun possession charge.   [TGT]  's public defenders had argued that the judge did not properly instruct the jury on the issue that the defendant may have had only "momentary" possession of the gun and therefore did not commit a crime.
The jury of six men and six women decided in November that   [TGT] had not intentionally killed Steinle after hearing evidence that the single  fatal shot fired had ricocheted off the ground and travelled about 78 feet before striking her. The defense had argued that   [TGT] found the gun in a cloth under   [TGT]   bench seat and the gun accidentally discharged.
  [TGT] had been deported five times and was slated to be removed from the United States again in early 2015 when   [TGT]   was transferred by federal authorities to San Francisco to face a local 20-year-old marijuana charge. That charge eventually was dropped and local authorities released   [TGT]   in accordance with San Francisco's sanctuary-city policies. Steinle's death occurred several weeks later.
A week after  his  acquittal    [TGT] was indicted on two federal charges of being a felon and undocumented immigrant in possession of a firearm and ammunition. San Francisco authorities say they will turn  Garcia Zarate  over to federal immigration authorities  although it is not immediately clear as to when. The federal gun charges carry a penalty of up to ten years in prison  after which â if  he  were convicted â  he  presumably would be deported.