Chris Culliver faces three charges in hit-and-run case

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver will face three charges in connection with his March 28 arrest in a hit-and-run case. Matt Barrows is reporting Culliver will face charges of felony possession of metal knuckles, misdemeanor hit-and-run with injury, and misdemeanor hit-and-run (without injury).

When Culliver was first arrested, there were reports he was facing five separate charges. The misdemeanor hit-and-run with injury was initially reported as felony hit-and-run, and he was also potentially facing charges for reckless driving causing injury and misdemeanor driving with a suspended license. Given that the bicyclist was treated at the scene and able to leave, the wobbler would seem to have downgraded a bit.

The possession charge carries prison time, but there was no charge related to his threat of the witness. There is no reason given, but Barrows did report the DA's office would continue investigating the case. We broke down the various potential charges shortly after news broke of the arrest.

Barrows got some notable information from the DA's office in regards to Culliver's past. They had no record of prior criminal misconduct, which bodes well for his chances to avoid prison time. My guess is they work out a plea and he gets extensive probation and a fine. If he got any prison time, I suppose it could be a short amount of time he could serve in an offseason. But even that seems unlikely.

Fooch's Update: Matt Maiocco provided some more detail on some of the potential sentences related to the brass knuckles charge - "If convicted, it carries a prison sentence of 16 months, two years or three years. A judge has discretion to grant probation and a sentence of no time to one year."

The 49ers released an initial statement about waiting for the process to happen, but we have not heard anything since. And Culliver has maintained radio silence. His first court date is on Friday for the arraignment. I suspect media will be on hand to try and get a comment from Culliver. For now though, we wait. The team returns to the offseason workout program on April 21, so that will potentially provide another opportunity for Culliver to speak with the media. I suspect there will be something quick on the matter about moving past it and that sort of thing.