EXCLUSIVE: Territory Labor’s candidate for the upcoming Arafura by-election was charged in 2009 and later convicted in relation to killing a woman in Katherine with his car, the NT Independent can reveal.

Manuel Brown, 39, pleaded guilty and was convicted in February 2010 for driving without due care, after a more serious charge of dangerous driving causing death was downgraded.

Mr Brown had also faced a charge of failing to stop at a stop sign in connection to the June 2009 death of the 62-year-old woman, according to court records.

Mr Brown did not respond to the NT Independent’s questions on Wednesday, including if he had informed the Labor Party or the Chief Minister about his conviction during the candidate vetting process.

He also declined to explain the circumstances around the death of the woman.

The charge of driving dangerously causing death carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in jail, however court records show Mr Brown was only sentenced to a 12-month good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to the lesser of the charges.

There is nothing in the NT Electoral Act preventing a person with a previous conviction from running for office, however it was unclear if he had been upfront about the matter with the party before seeking pre-selection.

The NT Independent has filed an application for the statement of facts in connection to the case from the courts for more details about the incident.

Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and Territory Labor secretary Karlee Dalton also did not respond to questions, including if they knew about Mr Brown’s conviction or if they endorsed him regardless.

When the NT Independent reached Ms Dalton by phone on Wednesday afternoon, she would not say if Mr Brown had informed the party of his conviction and that a “media person” would make contact. That did not eventuate.

The deadline for this story was later extended but there was still no response.

Ms Fyles recently rebuked Labor Member for Blain Mark Turner, telling ABC Radio last week that he was booted from caucus because he could not be “trusted”, but refused to explain how she determined that.

In the same interview, Ms Fyles said her parliamentary team “values trust extremely”.

Last month, Ms Fyles said Mr Brown had worked in “community development” and that “we would be proud to have Manuel join our team”.

She added only that he had been living and working in Maningrida with his wife and three children in different roles with Indigenous organisations since 2015 and claimed he was a “well-respected Tiwi Islands man”.

Mr Brown most recently worked as a staffer for former Member for Arafura Lawrence Costa, who passed away in December.

Nominations for the Arafura by-election close at 12pm on Thursday, with pre-polling beginning next week in the large and remote electorate.