Paul Flores’ alleged attacker charged with felony attempted murder in Fresno County Court
FRESNO, Calif. (KION-TV)- UPDATE ON DEC. 6, 2023 AT 11:45 AM- The Fresno County Court said that multiple felony charges were filed against the inmate who allegedly assaulted fellow inmate Paul Flores in Aug. 2023.
Our sister station KEYT said that Jason Richard Budrow, has now been charged with four felonies including Attempted Murder, Assault by a Prisoner Serving a Life Sentence, Custodial Possession of a Weapon detail and assault with a deadly weapon by a state prisoner in Fresno County Superior Court.
The Fresno County Superior Court said that Budrow will be in court for an arraignment of those charges on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m.
If Burdrow gets convicted, he will be facing 27 years to life according to the Fresno County District Attorney's Office.
Flores was convicted in October 2022 for the killing Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly student who disappeared in 1996. In March of 2023, Flores was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison with a chance of parole.
KEYT said that Flores was attacked at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga when he was out in the prison yard and allegedly got stabbed.
Convicted murderer Paul Flores in fair condition after an inmate allegedly “slit his throat”
COALINGA, Calif. (KION-TV)- UPDATE August 23, 2023, at 4:06 p.m.- Paul Flores was taken to an outside hospital after being attacked in prison, according to his attorney Harold Mesick.
Kristin Smart's family’s attorney Jim Murphy says he was told Flores was out in the prison yard for about an hour, and that’s when an inmate allegedly quote “slit his throat.”
He was airlifted to a trauma center in Fresno with substantial blood loss.
He provided a statement and said quote “It was the conduct of Paul Flores that resulted in Kristin Smart’s death. It was the conduct of Paul Flores that put him in prison where he belongs. My office and the Smart family do not condone violence. Sometimes in life, your karma comes.”
Our sister station KEYT spoke to Flores' provisional attorney Harold Mesick… He said Flores is expected to survive and his condition is now ‘fair’
"It was an intentional act and, you know, heinous, but I pray for his full recovery,” Mesick said.
Flores is expected to be released from the hospital Thursday.
“I think Susan may have briefly spoken to him. So that's a good sign, too. That means he's speaking. So that's a good thing," Mesick said.
In October 2022, Flores was convicted of killing Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly student who disappeared in 1996. He was sentenced to 25 to life in prison with a chance of parole in March.
His attack happened at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga where he was recently moved.
Paul Flores sentenced to 25 years to life for murder of Kristin Smart
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV): UPDATE March 10, 2023, at 1:38 p.m.- The man found guilty of murdering Kristin Smart back in 1996 was sentenced to the Department of Corrections and Rehab in a Salinas courtroom Friday.
Paul Flores was sentenced to serve 25 years to life but will be eligible for parole after a judge denied him a new trial earlier in the day. He was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Kristin Smart.
Flores was tried 26 years later in 2022, alongside his father Ruben Flores who was accused of being an accessory to the crime and helping hide Smart's body. While Ruben Flores was found not guilty, Paul Flores was found guilty and convicted in October 2022.
The defense for Flores submitted a motion for a new trial ahead of the Friday sentencing but was denied the appeal. Flores faced 25 years to life in prison.
Flores will serve the maximum sentence at the Department of Corrections and Rehab.
I agree with the sentence of 25-years-to-life handed down today against Paul Flores for the murder of Kristin Smart. It was a long time coming but it is a decision that is right and just. Our thoughts right now are with the Smart family. Today is not about us and what we did, but about them and what they do now. How they move forward. We want to remind the community this case is not over yet. And it won’t be over until Kristin has been returned to her family.
San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office
Paul Flores’ attorney files for new trial and dismissal of charges prior to sentencing
UPDATE Feb. 28, 2023, at 4:38 p.m.- Paul Flores' attorney, Robert Sanger, has filed a series of motions to dismiss the October 2022 jury decision to find his client guilty for the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart as well as a request for a new trial.
These motions come as Flores is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, Mar. 10.
The motion states, "There is a reason that a case against Paul Flores was not brought for 25 years."
The case was heard in Monterey County Superior Court after a successful motion for a change of venue was filed by Sanger in 2022.
Flores' father, Ruben, was charged as an accessory but was acquitted by in a separate jury trial.
Paul Flores to be sentenced in March for murder of Kristin Smart
UPDATE Feb. 9, 2023, at 4:12 p.m.- Paul Flores appeared in a Salinas courtroom Thursday, and a judge said his scheduled sentencing for the Kristin Smart murder will proceed as planned.
Paul Flores, his defense team, and the prosecution were on Zoom for Thursday's hearing.
Flores' sentencing is scheduled for March 10. He faces 25 years to life in state prison.
During Thursday's hearing, Judge Jennifer O'Keefe asked the defense and prosecution teams for an update ahead of that court date. Attorney Chris Peuvrelle said the prosecution team is good to go with the hearing.
Retired Santa Barbara County Judge, Frank Ochoa, was in for Paul Flores' defense attorney, Robert Sanger, who was in Los Angeles for another trial.
Ochoa said a motion for a new trial has not been filed yet but will be filed on time. According to the California Rules of Court, that deadline is 10 days before sentencing.
Judge O'Keefe said the sentencing in March will proceed.
Peuvrelle said he doesn't want to push the sentencing back any farther and said Sanger has had plenty of time to file a motion for a new trial.
The judge asked the defense and prosecution teams to avoid any more delays unless it is necessary.
O'Keefe also said she reviewed a probation report that was more than 100 pages long and detailed Paul Flores' behavior and other information about him. She asked the defense and prosecution teams to review the documents.
The sentencing has already been pushed back. It was originally scheduled for last December, but Judge O'Keefe approved a motion from the defense to delay sentencing to a later date. A jury convicted Flores last October for the murder of Kristin Smart.
On October 18, 2022, Flores was found guilty of the 1996 killing of the Cal Poly student. Flores and Smart attended the same off-campus party that night before she disappeared.
Flores was the last person to see her alive. Smart's body was never found.
Paul Flores' father, Ruben Flores, was tried at the same time. He was charged with being an accessory to the crime. A separate jury found Ruben Flores not guilty.
The sentencing is scheduled for March 10 at 9 a.m. in Salinas. Your News Channel will have a crew in court when the sentencing happens and will bring updates as they come in.
Judge approves sentencing delay for convicted murderer Paul Flores
UPDATE Dec. 2, 2022, at 10:12 a.m.- The man found guilty of the murder of Kristin Smart will now be sentenced in March after a judge approved a delay.
Judge Jennifer O'Keefe granted the defense motion made by Paul Flores's defense attorney Robert Sanger. Paul Flores was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 9 and is facing 25 years to life in prison.
A new status hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2023, and a new sentencing was scheduled for March 10.
Paul Flores found guilty in Kristin Smart murder trial, Ruben found not guilty of accessory to murder
UPDATE Oct. 20, 2022, at 11:34 a.m.- Paul Flores has been taken back to San Luis Obispo County Jail until his sentencing hearing in December, according to the Monterey County Jail.
Since the crime was committed in San Luis Obispo County, he will be extradited back to San Luis Obispo County when he is sentenced.
UPDATE Oct. 18, 2022, at 1:30 p.m.- Paul Flores has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1996 disappearance of Kristin Smart, according to our reporter on the scene.
"The impact that Kristin's disappearance and its investigation have had on the Smart family and our community, spanning a quarter century, is profound," District Attorney Dan Dow said in the release. "We thank them for the tremendous trust and patience they have placed in the investigation and prosecution of this terrible crime. This verdict provides some sense of justice for Kristin, the Smarts, and our community. Today, justice delayed is not justice denied."
Paul's father, Ruben Flores, was found not guilty of accessory to murder charge.
Ruben Flores told reporters outside the courtroom he is worried about his son and "there is no evidence against anybody."
"It's too bad the system works that way, on feelings instead of facts," Ruben Flores said, adding that he felt bad for Smart's family because they never got a true answer as to what happened to their daughter.
Prosecutors alleged Flores, now 45, raped or attempted to rape Smart and killed her in his dorm room while he and the victim were students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and that his father helped move her body to his home in nearby Arroyo Grande, hiding her body for a time under his deck.
Smart's disappearance haunted idyllic San Luis Obispo, a small college city with a little more than 47,000 residents, less than 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
Billboards in the community showed Smart's face and asked for help solving her mysterious vanishing.
The Smart case attracted more public interest, with the popularity of a podcast delving into her disappearance called "Your Own Backyard," which debuted in 2019. That podcast and authorities identified Paul Flores as the last person to see Smart alive.
Smart was declared dead in 2002.
After authorities arrested Paul and Ruben Flores a year and a half ago, the family of Kristin Smart called it a bittersweet day.
"While Kristin's loving spirit will always live in our hearts, our life without her hugs, laughs and smiles is a heartache that never abates," they said in a statement.
John Segale, a family spokesperson, told CNN that Denise and Stan Smart are retired educators and live in Stockton, California
Paul Flores will be sentenced in December and faces 25 years to life. The family of smart is expected to release a statement.
BREAKING: The juries in the case of People v. Flores have both returned with their verdicts.
— SLO County Sheriff (@SLOSheriff) October 18, 2022
We will be going live with a press conference at 4 PM in the Monterey County Courthouse where Sheriff Ian Parkinson will discuss the verdicts along with DA Dan Dow and the Smart family.
Paul Flores jury reaches verdict in Kristin Smart trial
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV): KION has received tips that a verdict has been reached in the Paul Flores murder trial. A verdict is expected to be read this afternoon.
The verdict is expected to be read at 1:30 p.m. at the Superior Court of California, County of Monterey in Salinas.
Ruben Flores', Paul's father, verdict was reached Monday. Paul Flores is accused of murdering former Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in May 1996 and his father is being accused of accessory.
Ruben Flores jury reaches verdict in Kristin Smart trial
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV): The jury for Ruben Flores, whose son is accused of killing former Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in May 1996 and who is being charged as an accessory to the crime, has reached a verdict according to KEYT.
The court will not announce the jury's decision until the decision for Paul Flores, Ruben's son, has also reached a verdict.
Both cases were tried simultaneously but each defendant has their own jury. Ruben Flores' jury had to restart deliberations days in after a juror was dismissed on Thursday for talking about the case with his priest, but handed down its decision on Monday.
READ MORE: Closing arguments began in the Kristin Smart murder trial
Paul Flores was accused of killing Smart because he was reportedly the last one to see her alive after an off-campus party that spring.
