Man accused in SLO County beach shooting convicted of first-degree murder. What’s next?

A San Luis Obispo jury found the man accused of killing two people during a 2001 confrontation over a Morro Strand State Beach campsite guilty of first-degree murder.

Jurors convicted Stephen Deflaun of the first-degree murders of Stephen Wells, 37, and Wells’ 11-year-old nephew, Jerry Rios Jr., and assault with a firearm on a peace officer, in this case California State Parks ranger Charles “Chuck” Jackson.

The jury also found the special allegation of the use of a firearm for all three counts true, and the multiple murder special allegation true.

These special allegations can potentially add more time to Deflaun’s sentence.

Deflaun, 63, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was never expected to be competent enough to stand trial, a forensic psychologist said in a 2004 court hearing. That changed in April 2022.

The shootout began after Wells had his two nephews ask Deflaun if he was staying overnight in his van at a large campsite.

The two men began yelling at each other, and Wells threatened to report Deflaun to the park rangers. Around 15 minutes later, Deflaun returned to the park entrance and shot Wells and Rios Jr.

Deflaun testified that he thought Wells was a “federal agent a--hole,” which he interpreted as an assassin, and felt he “didn’t have a choice” but to kill Wells.

Deflaun saw movement to his left after shooting Wells and shot Rios Jr. as well, Deflaun said on the stand.

In closing arguments, San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth asked the jury to convict Deflaun of two counts of first-degree murder.

Defense attorney Raymond Allen argued the murder of Wells was “imperfect self-defense,” because Deflaun believed he was in imminent danger that required use of deadly force, but that belief was unreasonable.

The jury deliberated for approximately three hours to come to its decision.

The trial will now enter the so-called “sanity phase,” where the jury will hear more testimony and evidence regarding Deflaun’s mental health and decide whether he is legally insane and therefore, not guilty by reason of insanity.

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy previously ruled the jury could not know Deflaun was previously incompetent to stand trial for 21 years and had previously been found not guilty by reason of insanity in a Massachusetts court for possession of a knife.

These facts may be able to be included in the sanity phase of the trial, but the judge has not yet ruled on it yet.

Court will resume Thursday at 9 a.m. to begin the second phase of the trial. The defense expects three witnesses to testify.