A London city councilman and his wife are facing felony charges after a Franklin County grand jury handed up an indictment accusing them of tax violations tied to false or unfiled Kentucky returns. Judson Weaver, 58, and Kimberly Weaver, 52, are due in Franklin Circuit Court for arraignment at 9 a.m. on Nov. 20.
The grand jury returned the indictment on Oct. 13, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, which reported that Judson and Kimberly Weaver were charged with willfully filing or making false tax returns or failing to pay Kentucky individual income taxes. The indictment alleges the couple acted individually or in complicity with each other, per the same report. Court records reviewed by the paper tie the allegations to tax years 2019 through 2024, though WYMT separately reported the indictment covers alleged violations from 2020 through 2025 — a discrepancy the available records do not resolve.
Accounts of exactly how the six felony counts are structured also diverge. WYMT described the indictment as charging the Weavers collectively on six felony tax-related charges, while the State Journal's rundown of Franklin Circuit Court indictments listed Judson Weaver as facing six counts of willfully filing or making false tax returns or failure to pay tax on his own. The underlying statute, per the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, covers willfully failing to make a return, willfully making a false return, or willfully failing to pay taxes owing or collected, with the intent the law specifies. Each count carries a Class D felony classification, which could mean one to five years in prison if the Weavers are convicted, the Herald-Leader reported.
A Council Seat Filled After a Resignation
Judson Weaver is one of six members of the London City Council, a seat he has held since being appointed in February 2025 after former council member Kip Jervis resigned the previous month, according to the Herald-Leader. Weaver did not seek reelection to the council this year. He had also run for mayor once before, losing the 2022 race to Randall Weddle, the paper noted.
Weddle's own tenure as mayor grew turbulent well before this indictment. He resigned as mayor in July, and the council accepted that resignation before appointing Tracie Handley to serve out the remainder of his six-month term, the Herald-Leader reported. Handley had briefly filled a mayoral vacancy for two weeks in 2025 before a Laurel Circuit Court judge reinstated Weddle, and Weddle was also the subject of a Kentucky appeals court ruling that would have reinstated his earlier ouster by the council.
What Comes Next
Handley went on to finish third in the May primary, behind Weddle and Matt Orr, and she will not appear on the ballot in the upcoming general election, per the Herald-Leader's reporting. Orr is now the only mayoral candidate on the November ballot. None of that electoral history is tied directly to the tax indictment against the Weavers, but it underscores how much turnover London's local government has seen in recent months as the couple now awaits their arraignment next month.
