Paul Flores, person of interest in Kristin Smart’s disappearance, arrested in Los Angeles
The sole person of interest in the disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday on suspicion of a weapons charge.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said Thursday afternoon that Paul Flores, of San Pedro, was arrested in the harbor area of Los Angeles on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The arrest occurred at approximately 9:45 a.m. at West Summerland and Western avenues in Rancho Palos Verdes, and Flores was booked into the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, the spokesman said.
Updated custody information was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.
In February 2020, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI served search warrants at several residences in two states related to Flores. Officials have not released details on what, if anything, of substance was found.
On Thursday, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Cipolla confirmed Flores’ arrest in a statement saying that “the arrest originated as a result of information obtained during our search warrants last year at the home of Paul Flores as part of the Kristin Smart investigation.”
Cipolla declined further comment.
A spokesman for the Smart family said the family has no comment on the arrest.
Flores, now 43, was the last person seen with Smart on an early morning in 1996 as he reportedly walked Smart back to her dorm room following a house party.
Flores has refused to cooperate with authorities since an initial interview with investigators at the time of Smart’s disappearance.
He did not reveal details in a 1996 appearance before a San Luis Obispo grand jury, nor a 1997 deposition in which he repeatedly cited his right against self-incrimination, according to Tribune archives.
“There are no other suspects,” then-Sheriff Ed Williams said in 1997.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 3:24 PM.