Ruben Flores speaks on Smart case for first time since arrest: ‘No evidence against anybody’

Speaking publicly about the Kristin Smart case for the first time since his arrest more than a year ago, Ruben Flores said there was “no evidence” tying him or his son to the Cal Poly student’s murder.

Following a four-month trial in Monterey County Superior Court, jurors on Tuesday convicted Ruben Flores’ son, Paul Flores, of first-degree murder in Smart’s death.

However, a separate jury acquitted Ruben Flores of being an accessory in the crime after the fact.

“All that stuff they say is evidence, you look through it, and there is no evidence against anybody, me or Paul,” Ruben Flores said Tuesday during a news conference in front of the Salinas courthouse following the verdict reading. ”Too much made up stuff, that’s all I can say.”

“It’s too bad that sometimes the system works on feelings instead of facts,” the 81-year-old Arroyo Grande resident added, “but I am relieved about myself of course.”

Ruben Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said that his client is “not just not guilty. He is absolutely innocent, and today’s verdict proved that.”

Paul Flores, 45, was on trial for the murder of Smart, who went missing following an off-campus party during Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Flores was the last person seen with the Stockton freshman as she walked back to her residence hall.

Ruben Flores was accused of helping his son hide Smart’s body.

Paul and Ruben Flores had not spoken about the case since their arrests in April 2021, since they were co-defendants in the trial.

“They take you away in handcuffs and you’ve got everybody there, they say ‘that guy’s guilty,’ ” Ruben Flores said of his arrest. “The neighbors think you’re guilty, the people in the community.”

“It was about feelings, it wasn’t about facts ... and I think that’s what happened with my son,” Flores said. “They were carried away with feelings about the family and the girl missing.”

Arroyo Grande asked to ‘honor presumption of innocence’

Mesick said Ruben Flores’ case isn’t the biggest case he’s ever won, “but it’s the one I’ve been the most invested in on a personal level.”

“He never should have been charged, and I’m very pleased with the outcome,” the defense attorney continued. “Love our system of justice.”

Mesnick said he has fond feelings for the elder Flores, who he described as a “kind, generous, innocent man”.

Mesick asked that the Arroyo Grande community where Flores resides “honor the presumption of innocence,” when it comes to his client’s verdict.

The attorney said he wishes Flores’ neighbors and the San Luis Obispo County community would “disabuse themselves” of feelings of hatred toward the Flores family.

“There is just so much animosity towards this man and his family. There’s so much hate, and I really have never understood it,” Mesick said. “I understand that people are upset that Kristin is missing, I understand they want a person to be responsible for that. But just the ‘let’s lynch ‘em, let’s burn ‘em, let’s hang ‘em, let’s kill ‘em,’ I don’t know where that came from in this country.”

Despite those feelings, Flores said he plans to continue living in his White Court home.

“Why would I move? Why? I didn’t do nothing,” Flores said. “I’m not afraid of anybody.”

Mesick said his client, who is retired, plans to go home and “rebuild a deck that was destroyed in a search that was ultimately fruitless.”

“Primarily he just needs to rest ... Try to put this a little behind him,” the attorney said. “But how can he do that when his son is now facing a lifetime in prison?”

Paul Flores, who will be sentenced Dec. 9, could serve 25 years to life in state prison.

Ruben Flores’ ankle monitor removed

After his April 2021 arrest, Ruben Flores was taken into custody briefly before being released on bail.

Flores’ bail conditions were modified prior to the start of the Smart trial, allowing him to leave San Luis Obispo County to travel to the court proceedings in Monterey County.

He was fitted with an ankle monitor that he wore from the time of his release on bail throughout the duration of the trial. But that monitor was removed Tuesday afternoon following the verdict reading.

“(Flores) has served what would have been his full sentence had he been found guilty,” Mesick said.

Flores said that he has not spoken to his son since the verdicts were released but will likely connect with him once he is transferred to his next location.

Mesick said he feels there is “reasonable inference” Smart is still alive and that he thinks Paul Flores’ attorney will likely file for a new trial since “there are plenty of grounds.”

“They did not prove her death,” he said of Smart.

This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Ruben Flores speaks on Smart case for first time since arrest: ‘No evidence against anybody’."