SLO County man accused of killing Atascadero man in a hate crime makes first court appearance
A Paso Robles man accused of killing an Atascadero man in a hate crime last week made his first court appearance Wednesday.
Tyler Stevens, 21, was charged with the murder of 34-year-old Todd Joseph Pinion, who went missing from Atascadero on Oct. 30. His dog, Spock, was found dead at the base of the Cuesta Grade the following morning.
Police found Pinion’s body Saturday in a remote area near Tassajara Creek. Stevens was arrested on suspicion of homicide later that day and was being held in San Luis Obispo County Jail without bail. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Rita Federman ruled Stevens’ bail to remain at no bail.
Stevens’ attorney, Matthew Kraut, also requested Stevens get a haircut so that he could view documents more easily while he is in handcuffs, which the judge said she would order to have done before Stevens arraignment on Nov. 21.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office alleged Stevens killed Pinion because of Pinion’s “actual or perceived sexual orientation,” the agency said in a Tuesday news release.
The agency added two sentencing enhancements to the murder charge — one for a hate crime and another for using a deadly weapon, in this case a knife.
Stevens was also charged with felony animal cruelty in relation to Pinion’s dog, Spock.
The charges against Stevens also carry a sentencing enhancement for Steven’s 2023 conviction for assault on a peace officer with a deadly weapon, giving him one strike under California’s Three Strikes Law. According to the District Attorney’s case search, he pleaded no contest in April 2023 to felony evading an officer with willful disregard and assault on a peace officer relating to an incident in December 2022, when he was 19.
Court records show Stevens was sentenced to 364 days in jail and two years of probation for that conviction. The case was transferred to Ventura County, where Stevens served his sentence because of his permanent residence at the time.
Under the Three Strikes law, anyone convicted of a felony after one prior conviction of a serious or violent felony can be sentenced to prison for twice as long as a normal. A third-time offender faces a minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
The Atascadero Police Department asks anyone with information that could help the investigation to call 805-461-5051..
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 11:24 AM.
