After nearly 25 years, Paul Flores named ‘prime suspect’ in Kristin Smart disappearance
Paul Flores has long been called a “person of interest” in the case of missing Cal Poly student Kristin Smart.
That changed suddenly this week.
On Monday, the Sheriff’s Office — for the first time, according to Tribune archives — said in a news release that Flores “remains the prime suspect” in Smart’s disappearance in 1996, as the agency announced it was searching the Arroyo Grande property of Flores’ father, Ruben Flores.
The Sheriff’s Office’s new descriptor for Paul Flores was not lost on the thousands of people following developments in the case on social media Monday, though Sheriff’s Office officials have not elaborated on why they made the change.
“That’s what he is, based on more evidence that’s been collected in the case,” Tony Cipolla, a spokesman for the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, told The New York Times on Monday.
Cipolla has declined to comment to The Tribune about the significance of Flores’ new designation as a “prime suspect,” to which evidence he was referring or whether there are any other identified suspects.
Flores, 43, was the last person seen with Smart on an early morning in May 1996 as he reportedly walked her back to her dorm room following a house party.
The San Pedro resident has refused to cooperate with authorities since an initial interview with investigators at the time of Smart’s disappearance.
He did not reveal details in a 1996 appearance before a San Luis Obispo grand jury, nor a 1997 deposition in which he repeatedly cited his right against self-incrimination, according to Tribune archives.
The only other time Flores was described as anything but a person of interest was in 1997, when then-Sheriff Ed Williams, whose agency had just taken over the investigation, told local media: “There are no other suspects.”
Developments in the case had long-stalled until “Your Own Backyard,” a true crime podcast by Nipomo resident Chris Lambert, reignited public interest and put pressure on the Sheriff’s Office to update the public about the investigation.
The Smart case was also featured on CBS TV’s “48 Hours” in November.
The Sheriff’s Office has not revealed any link between the public interest and recent developments in the case, which include a handful of Sheriff’s Office and FBI searches in two states and the February arrest of Flores on a weapons charge in Los Angeles, which local officials say stemmed from evidence gathered at one of the searches.
Flores is back in the news this week as the Sheriff’s Office carries out the search of Ruben Flores’ property.
Nearly two dozen sheriff’s investigators and people in civilian clothes were seen using cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar on the property, specifically under a deck at the rear of the home.
That search continued Tuesday, before the Sheriff’s Office announced it was wrapping up at around 2 p.m.
Recent searches and an arrest related to Paul Flores
Since “Your Own Backyard” debuted, new life appears to have been breathed into the Sheriff’s Office investigation, which is being led by Det. Clint Cole, the agency’s lead cold case investigator, although Sheriff’s Office officials have said the Smart investigation is not considered a cold case.
In February 2020, the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI served search warrants at several residences in San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles counties, as well as a home in Washington state, related to Paul Flores.
One of the searches took place at the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores, Paul’s mother. Investigators were seen leaving the house with armloads of evidence they placed in a van, including a computer, a brown paper bag and a storage bin.
They then took down the caution tape and left the scene.
At the time, Los Angeles TV news stations ABC7 and KTLA also reported that the Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at a home in the 900 block of West Upland Avenue in San Pedro.
Paul Flores has lived in that neighborhood since 2010, according to public records databases.
Authorities also searched two vintage vehicles at the San Pedro home, the Associated Press reported then, and took “several electronic devices” out of the house.
An Associated Press photographer captured images of deputies rummaging through the trunk of what is believed to be Flores’ car, just feet away from reporters.
Flores was detained during the service of that search warrant in San Pedro but wasn’t taken into custody.
Officials have not released details on what, if anything, was found, saying the sealed warrant precludes them from commenting on the search.
The search of Ruben Flores’ home this week takes place about a month after his son was arrested in Los Angeles.
Paul Flores was arrested Feb. 11 in the harbor area of Los Angeles on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“The arrest originated as a result of information obtained during our search warrants last year at the home of Paul Flores as part of the Kristin Smart investigation,” Cipolla said in a statement then.
Flores was released from Los Angeles County Jail shortly thereafter, and a court date has been scheduled for June in Los Angeles Superior Court.
On Monday, Smart’s family issued a statement Monday through their public relations representative about the search of Ruben Flores’ home.
“We are encouraged by the news of today’s search of Ruben Flores’ property,” the family wrote, according to John Segale. “We appreciate the vigilance and professionalism of Sheriff Ian Parkinson and his department, and our family looks forward to learning more in the hours and days ahead.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2021 at 2:23 PM with the headline "After nearly 25 years, Paul Flores named ‘prime suspect’ in Kristin Smart disappearance."
