A California judge is now facing a criminal charge after prosecutors say she struck and killed a bicyclist while driving last year.
Kings County Superior Court Judge Kendra Weber has been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in connection with the September 2025 death of 63-year-old Bryan Leroy Garcia. The California Department of Justice filed the charge this week following an investigation.
The fatal crash happened on the night of Sept. 15, 2025, along Hanford Armona Road near 16th Avenue in Kings County.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Garcia was riding a Felt Z85 bicycle westbound when Weber approached from behind in a 2019 Subaru Forester.
CHP said Garcia was riding near the solid white edge line when the Subaru failed to give him enough clearance and struck the rear of the bicycle.
Garcia was thrown from the bike and pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said alcohol and drugs were not believed to have played a role.
ABC30 also reported that Weber stayed at the scene after the collision. Garcia was not wearing a helmet at the time.
The California Attorney General’s Office announced the charge Sept. 15, exactly one year after the crash.
The criminal complaint accuses Weber of killing Garcia while driving in the commission of an unlawful act that did not rise to the level of a felony, or while committing a lawful act in an unlawful manner, without gross negligence.
That wording reflects California’s misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter statute, which covers fatal crashes involving negligence that falls short of the “gross negligence” required for a more serious charge.
The complaint does not spell out exactly what traffic violation prosecutors believe Weber committed.
That missing detail will likely become one of the most important issues as the case moves forward.
CHP Lt. Michael Wolfe previously told The Fresno Bee that officers generally do not make an immediate arrest in cases like this when there is no suspected intoxication or malice. Instead, investigators typically complete their report and send it to prosecutors for review.
That appears to be what happened here.
Weber was appointed to the Kings County Superior Court bench in 2023 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Before becoming a judge, she worked as an administrative law judge with the Board of Parole Hearings, served as an attorney for Kings County Child Support Services, worked as a deputy district attorney and practiced law privately.
Her status as a sitting judge makes the case unusual, but the legal standard is the same as it would be for any other defendant.
The California Department of Justice emphasized that the charge is only an allegation and that Weber is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
No court date had been publicly announced as of the latest update.
The case will now move through Kings County Superior Court, where prosecutors will have to establish what specific driving conduct they believe caused Garcia’s death and whether it meets the elements of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
What a misguided world we live in
If you’re going to kill someone, don’t use a firearm, it’s a felony.
Use your car instead, it’s only a misdemeanor.