Judge denies motion to dismiss murder charges in Kristin Smart case
Jan. 21—A judge on Friday denied a motion to dismiss murder charges against the father and son defendants accused in the death and disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, who went missing in 1996.
San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy rejected the motion filed by the defense on Dec. 17 that asked to set aside a Sept. 22, 2021, ruling upholding the charges against Paul and Ruben Flores. The case now proceeds to a tentative trial start date on April 25.
Paul Flores' attorney, Bob Sanger, argued there was no probable cause for the charges, citing a speculative and media-tainted case with no new evidence, and challenging the admissibility of cadaver dog searches and a 1996 interrogation in the weeks following Smart's disappearance, according to his motion.
In her ruling, Duffy cited the "exceedingly" low standard to reach a probable cause ruling and that it was sufficient to uphold the necessary elements in the charges, including from cadaver dog alerts, in the soil samples and from inconsistent statements made by Paul Flores to investigators that seemed to contradict witness testimony.
Paul Flores, 45, of San Pedro is charged with the first-degree murder of Smart. His father Ruben Flores, 80, of Arroyo Grande, is charged with accessory to her murder after the fact and is accused of burying her body underneath the deck of his residence in the 700 block of White Court. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Smart was a 19-year-old freshman at Cal Poly when she went missing on May 25, 1996. Her body has never been found and in 2002, she was declared legally dead.
She was last seen with Paul Flores near the intersection of Perimeter Road and Grande Avenue, steps away from their dorms, at about 2 a.m., after walking back from an off-campus party, according to Cheryl Manzer, a former student who last saw them together as she walked to her dorm.
Paul and Ruben Flores were arrested at their respective residences on April 13, 2021, and charged the next day. The arrests followed a series of search warrants, including at the White Court residence, in March and April of 2021 in which Sheriff's Office investigators utilized cadaver dogs, ground-penetrating radar and an archaeologist.
Paul Flores is being held at San Luis Obispo County Jail with no bail listed, while Ruben Flores was released on $50,000 bail April 21. Both men were present in court on Friday.
In court, Sanger argued that the four cadaver dogs' alerts in the 1996 searches of Paul Flores' dorm room don't count as evidence themselves unless something is found as a result of the alerts, adding that the testimony from their handlers was "painful" to watch.
Duffy, however, said Van Rooyen determined there was enough evidence to find that the dogs were reliable in detecting human remains.
Additionally, Sanger said the testimony offered by new witness Jennifer Hudson "makes no sense" and offered no "significant" evidence, after she testified encountering Paul Flores twice during the summer of 1996, including on one occasion when he allegedly made a reference to burying Smart.
Harold Mesick, who represents Ruben Flores, also joined the motion to dismiss.
"It's been my experience over the past 20 years doing preliminary hearings, the strong the prosecution's case, the shorter the prelim," Mesick said, adding that the 21-day hearing was directly related to the amount and quality of evidence in the case.
The case is scheduled for a trial conference at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 2 in Department of Superior Court.
