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Judge denies motion to add rape charges to criminal complaint against Paul Flores
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and last updated 2021-07-14 20:57:45-04
A motion to include two charges of rape allegedly involving women in the Los Angeles area to the criminal complaint against Paul Flores, who is charged with the 1996 murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, was denied by a judge Wednesday.
While the prosecution argued the additional charges should be included in the murder case against Flores, Judge Craig van Rooyen ruled that there would be a spillover effect with that case to the current one. Flores is charged with murdering Kristin Smart during the commission of a rape or attempted rape, but van Rooyen says there is little or no evidence to back the rape allegations.
By KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen reduced bail for Rubin Flores from $250,000 to $50,000 on Wednesday afternoon,
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During Monday’s hearing, Peuvrelle countered an argument by Paul Flores’ attorney Robert Sanger by telling Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen that “there’s substantial new evidence” from recent property searches that support the charges in the case.
Van Rooyen denied bail for Paul Flores.
Ruben Flores’ Bail Report
Peuvrelle also opposed any bail for Ruben Flores, whose release “would constitute an imminent risk to public safety,” he said.
“Ruben Flores has repeatedly lied over the course of 24 years and has been uncooperative with law enforcement with the specific intent of aiding Paul Flores escape prosecution,” Peuvrelle is quoted as saying in the county probation bail report. “The excavation below his deck at 710 White Court showed damning evidence that a body had been buried in that location and then recently moved.”
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Last week police arrested Paul Flores and his father Ruben Flores in connection with the 1996 disappearance of college student Kristin Smart. San Luis Obispo County district attorney Dan Dow claimed Smart had been abducted by Paul Flores (who had volunteered to walk her home from a party that night) and then killed during an attempted rape. The arrest of Paul’s father Ruben Flores came after investigators had been involved in digging at his property. The suspicion was that Ruben had helped his son hide Smart’s body but a gag order has prevented both sides in the case from discussing the evidence. All that was known for certain was that Smart’s body had not been found.