William Tenorio stepped off a Guadalupe Street curb nearly 10 months ago and was struck and killed by a drunken driver, who then drove off.

In the months since, the case has often dominated headlines in a community where tragedies have made drinking and driving a hot-button issue.

The driver, 36-year-old Carlos Fierro, goes on trial Monday in state District Court in front of Judge Michael Vigil.

The expected two-week trial will feature a defendant who is a hometown boy made good. A 12th-generation New Mexican, Fierro is a lawyer who worked for politicians in Washington, D.C., and New Mexico. In 2007, the State Bar of New Mexico named him its outstanding young lawyer.

His passenger and drinking companion that night, Alfred Lovato, was a 17-year veteran of the New Mexico State Police who was assigned to Gov. Bill Richardson's security detail. He now faces the same charges as Fierro.

Richardson himself was even interviewed by detectives investigating the case, though his name doesn't appear on any witness lists, meaning he isn't expected to testify.

The victim, 46-year-old William Tenorio, a member of San Felipe Pueblo, also had been drinking the night he was struck.

District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco — who was elected to her first term in November — chose to prosecute the case herself, along with another prosecutor in her office.

At the other table in the courtroom, Fierro has hired four lawyers for his defense team. They are led by Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence — both of Albuquerque — former federal prosecutors turned defense attorneys. Both have represented high-profile clients in recent years.

The defense attorneys are expected to call a number of experts, including accident reconstructionists, during the trial.

Based on pre-trial motions and statements made by defense lawyers at jury selection, the defense is expected to argue that even a sober driver could not have avoided Tenorio and that Fierro fled the scene because he didn't know he'd hit a person. The lawyers also say Fierro was afraid he and Lovato were about to be attacked by a crowd outside a now-defunct Guadalupe Street blues bar where they, and Tenorio, had been drinking earlier that night.

Fierro faces charges of vehicular homicide and causing a fatal accident. If convicted of both charges, he will face up to nine years in prison.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.