Charles Polevich pled guilty to one count of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and one count of tampering with physical evidence ... both felonies.

He was facing up to 7 years behind bars on the felony count alone, but it looks like he won't get nearly that long of a sentence. Judge Howard Sturim committed to sentencing Polevich to no more than one year in jail, along with community service and suspension of his driver's license.

As we reported ... Robert Maraj died at the age of 64 ... after being struck in a hit-and-run accident back in February 2021.

Nicki later opened up about the tragedy on her website saying ... "I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life." She added, he was very loved and will be very missed.