Paul Flores moved to prison in Fresno County

August 19, 2023

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Corrections officials have transferred convicted Kristin Smart killer Paul Flores from a prison in Kern County to another Central Valley facility, Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. 

Following his April 2021 arrest for Smart’s murder, Flores spent most of his time in SLO County Jail. Flores was housed in Monterey County jail during his three-month trial. 

In Nov. 2022, a Monterey County jury convicted Flores of the murder of Smart. Then in March 2023, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O’Keefe rejected a motion made by Flores’s attorney for a new trial and sentenced Flores to 25 years to life in prison.

During the sentencing hearing, O’Keefe told Flores he deserved to spend the rest of his life behind bars. However, Flores is eligible for parole in Aug. 2037, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website.

On March 30, authorities transferred Flores from San Luis Obispo County Jail to North Kern State Prison. Located in Delano, North Kern State Prison is a medium-security facility that often serves as a processing center, where inmates are temporarily housed and assessed prior to being assigned another prison. 

It is unclear when exactly Flores moved to Pleasant Valley State Prison. The Fresno County facility provides long-term housing for inmates of all custody levels.

Flores murdered Smart in 1996 during an attempted rape following a Cal Poly frat party. After the party, Flores helped escort Smart, who was found passed out on a lawn outside the party, back to her dorm room. She was never seen again.

The primary suspect in the case, Flores was sporting a black eye when interviewed by law enforcement, who determined he lied repeatedly. Even so, it would be years before deputies raided Flores’s home.

During a 2020 raid of Flores’ San Pedro home, deputies discovered multiple rape videos with titles including, “Drugged and raped while passed out” and “Blonde high school girl in skirt gets raped.” 

Investigators also found two bottles of date rape drugs in Flores’s home, prosecutors said. In a file labeled “practice,” Flores stored homemade rape videos of himself having sex and sodomizing women.