Paul and Ruben Flores make first court appearance in Kristin Smart killing

Two days after their arrests in the 1996 disappearance of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, Paul and Ruben Flores appeared in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Thursday morning to be arraigned on charges of murder and accessory, respectively.

No pleas were entered and the arraignment was continued to Monday afternoon, when parties are expected to make arguments regarding bail.

Both men appeared before Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen via Zoom conference from San Luis Obispo County Jail, with Paul Flores in a suit and tie and Ruben Flores in an orange jumpsuit.

The Smart family issued a statement following the hearing.

“After nearly 25 years of waiting, today’s delay in the arraignment process was not unexpected or surprising,” the statement reads. “Make no mistake, we have begun the final quest to bring justice for Kristin. We know we are in good hands with the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, and we will wait patiently for the process to commence.”

Defense attorney files motion on communications

Late Wednesday, Paul Flores’ attorney, Robert Sanger, filed a motion requesting a protective order in the case that would prohibit “any extrajudicial statements by any lawyer, party, witness, court official or law enforcement officer concerning this case.”

According to Sanger’s motion, the order is necessary due to the high publicity the case has attracted. Sanger argues that “the government has compromised and, if not enjoined, will continue to compromise Mr. Flores’ rights to a fair and impartial jury, a fair trial, and due process of law.”

Sanger argued that “further comment on the case by the lawyers, parties, witnesses, court officials or law enforcement officers would further endanger Mr. Flores’ rights” to a fair trial, he wrote.

Van Rooyen granted the motion, which does not apply to court staff communicating with the media about scheduling and other logistical issues.

Paul Flores and Ruben Flores remain in custody

The hearing comes two days after the arrests of San Pedro resident Paul Flores and his father, Arroyo Grande resident Ruben Flores, and one day after San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow announced at a news conference that his office had filed a murder charge against Paul Flores and a felony charge of accessory for Ruben Flores.

For the first time, Dow publicly alleged that Paul Flores committed the murder during the commission of an attempted rape.

Paul Flores, 44, was the last person seen with Smart before her disappearance in 1996. He is being held without bail at County Jail.

His 80-year-old father was taken into custody in Arroyo Grande on Tuesday and booked into County Jail on suspicion of being an accessory.

Ruben Flores’ bail is set at $250,000, and he remained in custody as of Thursday morning.

Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle, the lead prosecutor in the case, said at Wednesday’s news conference that he expected to seek a higher bail amount for Ruben Flores.

This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 9:26 AM.

Matt Fountain

The Tribune

(805) 781-7909

Matt Fountain is The San Luis Obispo Tribune’s courts and investigations reporter. A San Diego native, Fountain graduated from Cal Poly’s journalism department in 2009 and cut his teeth at the San Luis Obispo New Times before joining The Tribune as a crime and breaking news reporter in 2014.