Inset: Judge Kendra Weber (California Governor's Office). Background: The area near where a car fatally struck a cyclist along Hanford Armona Road in Lemoore, Calif. (Google Maps).
A California judge found herself on the other side of the law this week after being charged in a crash that killed a bicyclist.
Kings County Superior Court Judge Kendra Weber stands accused of one count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.
The charges were lodged by the California Attorney General's Office and announced in a terse press release. Similarly, the charging document contains threadbare legal allegations over the incident that took the life of 63-year-old Leroy Garcia in September 2025.
"[The] defendant did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Bryan Leroy Garcia, a human being, while driving a vehicle in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, but without gross negligence; and while driving a vehicle in the commission of a lawful act which might have produced death, in an unlawful manner, but without gross negligence," the criminal complaint reads.
The crash occurred late in the evening on Sept. 15, 2025, along Hanford Armona Road, east of 16th Avenue in Lemoore, a small town some 30 miles south of Fresno, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
Both Garcia, who was riding a Felt Z85 bicycle, and a woman behind the wheel of a 2019 Subaru Forester were traveling westbound toward 16th Avenue at the time, the agency said.
The bicyclist was on the "painted solid white roadway edge line" of the road when he was hit, state troopers said.
"As the driver of the Subaru approached the rear of the bicyclist, the driver of the Subaru failed to allow sufficient clearance, subsequently allowing the right front of the Subaru to crash into the rear of the bicycle," a press release obtained by Law&Crime reads. "The male bicyclist was ejected and subsequently pronounced deceased on scene."
State troopers added that alcohol and drugs "are not believed to be a factor in this crash."
"This tragic incident serves as another reminder to stay alert and share the road," the press release concludes.
Troopers said the victim was not wearing a helmet while on the bike and that Weber stayed at the scene following the collision, according to a report by Fresno-based ABC affiliate KFSN.
The agency briefly elaborated in comments to The Fresno Bee.
"We usually do not physically arrest for this crime, unless there was some type of malice, or intoxication, which did not seem to be the case here," CHP Lt. Michael Wofle said. "We usually submit an arrest report later with the DA's office for review, which happened in this case."
Weber was appointed to the bench in 2023 by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The defendant previously served as administrative law judge on the Board of Parole Hearings, as an attorney for the county's Child Support Services, as a Kings County deputy district attorney, and in private practice, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A court date has yet to be set in the case.