Mexican now faces 2 U.S. gun charges

SAN FRANCISCO — A Mexican man acquitted of murder in the shooting death of a San Francisco woman that sparked a national immigration debate was sentenced Friday to time served for illegal gun possession.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng also denied a defense request to grant Jose Ines Garcia Zarate a new trial for his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Garcia Zarate will now be taken into U.S. custody to face two federal gun-possession charges.

Garcia Zarate faced a top sentence of three years but has been in the San Francisco jail since his July 1, 2015, arrest.

A jury found found Garcia Zarate innocent last month of killing Kate Steinle on a popular pier in 2015. President Donald Trump pointed to the shooting during his presidential campaign as another reason to build a wall along the Mexican border and tighten immigration policies.

A federal grand jury indicted Garcia Zarate on two felony charges of illegal gun possession less than a week after the San Francisco jury acquitted him of murder

San Francisco public defender Jeff Adachi on Friday criticized federal prosecutors for adding the charges, which he called “ridiculous” and politically motivated.

“This is rarely done” after a defendant is acquitted on the same charge in a state court, Adachi said.

AP/CAROLYN KASTER Col. Jason Garkey (left), commander of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, escorts the 23rd secretary of the Army, Mark Esper, during a troop inspection at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia. Esper was ceremonially sworn in Friday, although he has...