Ernesto Botello, right, appears in Superior Court Judge Clifford Anderson's courtroom during jury selection Monday. Photo by Barney McManigal / SBN

Attorneys finished jury selection Monday, with the lawyer for defendant Ernesto Botello and a prosecutor agreeing on 12 jurors and three alternates after four days of intensive questioning of the prospects.

Botello, 24, faces a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter. If convicted, he could be sentenced up to a year in County Jail.

Defense lawyer Neil Levinson weeded-out dozens of potential jurors who either knew the victim’s family or had personal views that would bias them against the defendant. Deputy District Attorney Ali Neuffer dismissed jurors who leaned in the other direction.

Throughout the proceeding, Jake's parents sat silently in the front row of Superior Court Judge Clifford Anderson's courtroom.

Jake was riding in the bike lane along Calle Real, near the intersection of Highway 154, the morning of Sept. 6 when he was struck from behind, authorities said.

The impact of Botello's SUV was so strong it knocked the boy out of his helmet and threw him head-first onto the pavement, authorities said.

Jake, who was in his first week of 7th grade at La Colina Junior High, was pronounced dead at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Sept. 7.

Botello had just left a nearby trailer park where he lived and was headed downtown to work when he hit the boy. Botello, who immediately stopped after striking the boy, told police the morning sun blinded him as he drove east on Calle Real.

In addition to several public memorials, the death of the popular student touched off debates on traffic safety, bicycling, and even the renewal of Measure D, the sales tax for transportation projects.

A large picture of Jake, along with flowers, stuffed animals and personal notes, still hangs along the chain-linked fence next to the spot where he was killed.

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