Judge declines to set bail for Flores, pauses hearing again
A judge on Wednesday declined to set bail for Paul Flores and temporarily paused his preliminary hearing for a second time this week to allow attorneys to prepare for several motions that are scheduled to be heard on Friday.
Both Paul Flores and his father, Ruben, have been charged in the death and disaappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in 1996.
After a two-hour conference with prosecutors and defense attorneys Wednesday, Judge Craig Van Rooyen reopened the San Luis Obispo courtroom to the public for 10 minutes to announce that the motions must be heard before more witnesses are called.
Bob Sanger, Paul Flores' attorney, said the motions are still sealed but referred to "discovery issues" and asked Van Rooyen to release his client without bail or set a reduced bail amount.
"Events beyond our control have come up and information has been disclosed at the last minute, and some of it in possession of the prosecution," Sanger said. "Continuances that are necessitated by this are not the fault of Mr. Flores [and] he should not have to continue to sit in custody while waiting for these various discovery issues and the various motions related to them are resolved."
Shortly before court was paused Monday, Sanger said Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle agreed to provide "any and all" discovery regarding an unspecified matter, although Wednesday he noted that copies of additional text and WhatsApp messages may still be in possession of investigators and asked to have those provided by Friday.
Witness testimony may or may not resume on Friday after the motions are heard, Van Rooyen said.
Paul Flores, 44, of San Pedro is charged with murder in connection to the death and disappearance of Smart, who disappeared on May 25, 1996, around 2 a.m. after helping walk her back to their dorms following a party on Crandall Way.
His father, 80-year-old Ruben Flores, of Arroyo Grande, was charged with accessory to murder after the fact and is accused of hiding Smart's body. She was declared legally dead in 2002 and her body has not been found.
The two were arrested on April 13, following a series of search warrants executed on their homes and were charged the next day. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
The hearing, which began Aug. 2, is slated to run at least until the end of the month. At the conclusion, a judge will determine whether there is enough probable cause to uphold the charges in order for the case to proceed to trial.
The first people to take the stand were Stan and Denise Smart, Kristin's parents, who have been in the audience along with their son and daughter since Day One of the hearing.
They were followed by more than a dozen witnesses, including Smart's Cal Poly friends, a K-9 handler for cadaver dogs that searched Paul Flores' dorm room in June 1996, and two people who last saw Smart with Paul Flores at the intersection of Perimeter Road and Grande Avenue, just steps from their dorms.
Additionally, witnesses who knew or met Paul Flores in the days after Smart's disappearance have testified.
Everyone in the courtroom has worn masks due to COVID-19 protocols.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Friday in Department 5 of San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.