A field deputy for embattled city Councilman Richard Alarcon was charged today with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

Fifty-year-old Manuel Figueras was driving at 7:30 p.m. fatally struck a homeless man, 55-year-old Gary Woodford, on Vineland Avenue and Erwin Street in North Hollywood on March 14.

While the LAPD initially failed to report the incident to the media, it got out. And now …

… the District Attorneys office says Figueras could face one year in jail if he's convicted.

The case bounced back and forth between the City Attorney's office, which usually prosecutes misdemeanors, and the more criminally focused L.A. County District Attorney's office, until the City Attorney cited conflict of interest (Figueras is, after all, on the same team, essentially), and the D.A. took it up and went with a misdemeanor count.

Figueras was driving a city-owned Toyota Prius when the accident happened.

He's scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 17. Prosecutors are seeking bail of $25,000.

See also:

*Did L.A. Officials Cover Up Manny Figueras' Fatal Mowing Down of Gary Woodford?

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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