EDINBURG – A judge has sentenced the man found guilty of tampering with physical evidence in a 2017 Starr County murder.

Jose Luis Garcia, Jr. has been sentenced to eight years in prison and a fine of $10,000 for his role in the murder of 17-year-old Chayse Olivarez.

After nearly 13 hours of deliberation, jurors reached a guilty verdict for tampering with evidence around 1:30 a.m. Friday, along with finding Garcia not guilty of murder.

Starr County District Attorney Omar Escobar says the verdict was an unexpected outcome.

"We had a verdict a few weeks ago on another capital murder case that I thought was a much more difficult case in terms of evidence. Yet, that one was a guilty verdict. So, it's just this one was an extremely strange, I'm going to say, a very strange verdict," said Escobar.

During trial, the jury saw Garcia portrayed as a student with good grades and as a dedicated football player. Olivarez's character was described unfavorably by witnesses for the defense.

Escobar believes the defense wanted to make the victim, Olivarez, appear as “some kind of monster.”

Watch the video above for more details.