Prosecutor in SLO County beach shooting case calls for murder convictions as jury deliberates

“Mental illness and cold-blooded murder” were the reasons a man fatally shot two people at a San Luis Obispo County beach, a prosecutor said in his closing arguments in the case on Tuesday.

However, a defense attorney argued in San Luis Obispo Superior Court that Stephen Deflaun acted in “imperfect self defense” when he killed Stephen Wells and his nephew, Jerry Rios Jr., during a confrontation at Morro Strand State Beach on July 8, 2001.

The jury hearing the case against Deflaun finished its deliberations Wednesday after closing arguments in the case concluded Tuesday.

Jurors found Deflaun, 63, guilty of the first-degree murders of Wells, 34, and his 11-year-old nephew on July 8, 2001, and assault of a peace officer, in this case a California State Parks ranger.

Deflaun entered two pleas to the charges — not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity — and has admitted that he is factually responsible for the deaths of Wells and Rios Jr.

But voices in his head — a delusion he calls “the program” — told him he “didn’t have a choice” but to kill them, Deflaun said when he took the witness stand.

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

During the so-called “guilt phase, jurors considered whether Deflaun is factually responsible for the deaths of Wells and Rios Jr. and whether there was any type of malice aforethought, meaning Deflaun had an intention to kill or harm the man and child

They also weighed whether Deflaun factually assaulted former state parks ranger Charles “Chuck” Jackson with a firearm.

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

Shooter’s actions were based in ‘objective reality,’ prosecutor says

On Tuesday, Dobroth thoroughly went through the testimonies of each witness who took the stand during the two-week trial, pointing out moments that he believes prove Deflaun acted willfully, deliberately and with premeditation.

Dobroth said reports and witness testimony show that Deflaun was acting and reacting within “objective reality” on July 8, 2001, and encouraged the jury to look at Deflaun’s testimony with “great skepticism.”

The prosecutor said that Deflaun’s mental illness was a factor in the crime, but it is not a defense that gets him out of first-degree murder convictions

After Wells and Deflaun got in a confrontation about Deflaun’s campsite, there was about 15 minutes before shooting started, according to witness testimony.

During that time, Deflaun “made a conscious decision to arm himself” with a .357 magnum revolver loaded with six rounds, three speed loaders that had six rounds each,and “emergency ammunition” before walking about 600 feet to the park ranger kiosk where the shooting occurred, Dobroth said.

Dobroth claims Deflaun deliberately planned killing Wells during that window of time.

The prosecutor said Deflaun’s claim that he did not see Rios Jr. until after he shot Wells does not make sense because of the positioning of the man and child at the kiosk when Deflaun walked up.

“When we started off here, I gave you the three-word phrase ‘shocking, deliberate escalation,’ ” Dobroth told the jury, referring to his opening statements. “The evidence here has worn that out.”

According to at least one witness, Dobroth said, Deflaun said something to the effect of “that guy is trying to steal my campsite,” which Dobroth says shows Deflaun was acting in “objective reality” rather than his delusion.

In his testimony, Deflaun said “the program” told him Wells was a “federal agent a--hole,” to which he interpreted as “federal agent assassin.”

Deflaun testified that he felt his only choice was choosing the “lesser of two evils” — killing Wells instead of waiting for Wells to kill him.

But Dobroth argued none of Deflaun’s statements from the day of the shooting appear to have been based in delusion.

The prosecutor said Deflaun did not mention a federal agent of any kind or an assassin, according to reports and witnesses, and neither the program nor federal agent assassins are mentioned in Deflaun’s diary.

There is a brief mention of a “federal agent a--hole” in the diary, Dobroth noted.

Dobroth claimed Deflaun’s statements the on day of the shooting — the defendant allegedly told first defenders “I’m sorry,” and “I’m in so much trouble” — show Deflaun had a guilty conscience.

Deflaun’s mental illness can also make him more irritable and angry, according to testimony of forensic psychologist Dr. Carolyn Murphy, and that can be amplified by intoxication, Dobroth said.

Deflaun drank 12 Keystone beers in a short period of time the day of the shooting, according to Deflaun’s testimony.

All first responders who interacted with Deflaun after the shooting also said Deflaun appeared lucid, Dobroth said.

Addressing Deflaun’s alleged assault on Jackson, the California State Parks ranger, Dobroth said there is not way Deflaun could have not known Jackson was a peace officer.

According to the prosecutor, Jackson was in uniform, arrived in a marked car with sirens and lights on, and said, “State Parks Peace Office, drop your weapon,” several times.

Dobroth told jurors that the evidence shows Deflaun did not shoot his gun at Jackson, but to find a guilty assault charge there only needs to be an imminent threat or intent of great bodily harm.

Deflaun testified that he first wanted Jackson to kill him, which is why he raised his weapon at the officer at first.

But Dobroth said after Jackson’s shotgun malfunctioned for the first time, Deflaun took cover and continued to point his gun at the ranger.

It wasn’t until Jackson pointed his handgun at Deflaun that Deflaun dropped his gun, Dobroth said.

“Apparently he does not want to die,” Dobroth said.

Dobroth asked the jury to find Deflaun guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and assault with a firearm on a peace officer.

Defense: Man acted in ‘imperfect self defense’

Defense attorney Raymond Allen’s closing arguments focused on Deflaun’s mental illness, countering claims made by the prosecution.

Allen said the July 8, 2001, shooting was the result of three things working together: Provocation, intoxication, and hallucinations and delusions.

“All of those are working synergistically,” Allen said.

The defense attorney said Wells provoked Deflaun by sending his kids to Deflaun’s van twice and later challenging him to a fight and saying he was going to report Deflaun to the State Parks rangers.

Allen also claimed Wells told Deflaun he was going to report him for assaulting his children and smoking marijuana, which was not true.

Allen said that confrontation occurred after Deflaun believed a person working at the park kiosk intentionally gave him the wrong campsite number.

Deflaun could have interpreted that as a provocation because his delusions and hallucinations made him believe the world was actively conspiring and working against him, Allen said.

Allen noted that Deflaun denied mentioning the campsite to Wells during his testimony.

In his testimony, Deflaun said he asked Wells why he was trying to kill him, to which Wells responded, “Are you f--king crazy?”

Allen said the forensic psychologist and toxicologist who took the stand testified that intoxication can reduce inhibitions and amplify feelings someone is already feeling, so the alcohol Deflaun ingested may have made him more angry and reactive than he normally would be and reduced his inhibitions.

Because of this, Deflaun could not deliberately plan a killing, Allen said.

According to Allen, Deflaun was suicidal and believed Wells was an assassin, had a gun and knew Deflaun was coming with a gun.

In Deflaun’s mind, “It was like Armageddon,” Allen said.

He said Deflaun fully expected to be killed and didn’t want to be killed. But at times, Allen said, Deflaun did want to be killed.

The defense attorney said suicidal ideation is “hard” because “it’s counter to every human instinct we have.”

Allen argued Deflaun’s actions against Wells match up with a voluntary manslaughter conviction because he acted in “imperfect self defense,” meaning he believed there was an imminent threat to his safety that required use of deadly force, but that belief was unreasonable.

Allen said Deflaun did not mention “the program” in his statements the day of the shooting or in his diary for two reasons: Deflaun doesn’t want anyone to find out he has voices, and Deflaun also believes everyone already knows he hears voices.

“Talk about a catch 22,” Allen said.

According to the experts called to the stand, Allen said, it is not unusual for those diagnosed with severe schizophrenia spectrum disorder, like Deflaun, to be high-functioning, intelligent and appear as if they are not living with delusions.

Allen also noted that it took Murphy 45 minutes to finally begin to recognize Deflaun’s schizophrenia as he is high functioning, so it is not surprising that he seemed lucid to people who are not specially trained experts in mental illness.

Allen said Deflaun’s statements to first responders that day, saying “I’m sorry,” and “I’m in so much trouble,” was him referring to the program and voices in his head.

Those statements to do not indicate any consciousness of guilt, Allen said.

Deflaun did not know whether Jackson was a peace officer or a member of the program, Allen said, which is why Deflaun had his gun raised at times but didn’t shoot.

Allen asked the jury to find Deflaun guilty of voluntary manslaughter for Wells’ death, guilty of second-degree murder for Rios Jr.’s death and not guilty of an assault with a gun on a peace officer.

Jurors head into deliberation

On Tuesday, Dobroth gave a brief rebuttal following Allen’s arguments, and doubled down on why he believes Deflaun is guilty of first-degree murder.

The prosecutor said Wells is not to blame for provoking Deflaun, and told the jury the “cooling-off period” between the confrontation at the campsite and the shooting is important to consider in their decision.

Deflaun had time to cool down, plan to kill and then execute his plan, Dobroth said.

The prosecutor played a portion of the 911 call Wells made reporting Deflaun, noting that Wells reported a “verbal assault” against his children and that he smelled marijuana.

It is unclear if marijuana or its smell was present at the scene.

Dobroth reiterated that Deflaun apologizing to first responders and indicating he was going to be in trouble shows that the defendant had a consciousness of guilt.

“Actions speak louder than words, but actions and words speak loudest of all,” Dobroth told the jury.

The jury headed into deliberations for about 15 minutes before being released Tuesday, and returned to deliberations at 9 a.m. Wednesday before reaching a verdict at midday.