Bail reduced for suspect in the Kristin Smart murder case

April 21, 2021

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen reduced bail for Ruben Flores from $250,000 to $50,000 on Wednesday afternoon, after prosecutors accused the 80-year-old man of knowing the location of Kristin Smart’s remains.

Ruben Flores’ son Paul Flores is accused of murdering Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart during an attempted rape in 1996. Charged with accessory after the fact, Ruben Flores is suspected of helping his son with Smart’s body, which prosecutors believe was buried under his porch.

In a pre-hearing document that was inadvertently posted online, Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle asks the court to hold Ruben Flores in jail because “the release of Ruben Flores would constitute an intimidate risk to public safety.”

“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,” Peuvrelle wrote. “It is reasonable to believe Ruben Flores currently knows the location of Kristin Smart’s remains.”

SLO County sheriff deputy Clint Cole also asked the court to deny bail because”of biological evidence that makes them believe the victim was buried under the defendant’s father’s deck at one time.”

On Monday, Ruben Flores’ attorney Harold Mesick argued his client’s 40 years of ties to the community, volunteer work and clean record, demonstrate he is not a flight risk. Mesick also argued that soil discovered disturbed in Ruben Flores’ yard wasn’t conclusive evidence.

On Wednesday, Judge van Rooyen set Ruben Flores’ bail at $50,000 with the conditions he wear an ankle bracket, surrender his passport, stay in the area and commit no crimes.

Paul Flores, who is charged with the murder of Kristin Smart and suspected of multiple sexual assaults, is being held without bail.