BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Former Bakersfield Police Officer Ricardo Robles was in court Friday morning for sentencing in his manslaughter case stemming from a fatal crash at a rural intersection south of Edison almost two years ago.
Robles was behind the wheel in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 19, 2023, when he ran a stop sign at high speed at South Vineland and Muller roads and slammed into two Grimmway Farms workers driving home from a late night work shift.
The driver, Mario Lares, age 31, was killed. Passenger Ana Hernandez, 34 at the time, was seriously injured and has since undergone a series of surgeries and hours of difficult physical therapy.
Robles, 25 at the time, pleaded no contest to a charge of vehicular manslaughter and accepted a plea deal. He was sentenced Friday to two years of felony probation, 500 hours of community service, restitution to be determined later, and one day in jail — suspended.
The families of the injured parties have retained the law firm of Daniel Rodriguez for a possible civil suit.