Paul Flores has long been the sole person of interest in Smart’s 1996 disappearance.
The father and son were arrested and charged last week in connection with the 19-year-old Lincoln High School student’s death more than 25 years after she went missing from the Cal Poly University campus in San Luis Obispo. Both Paul and Ruben Flores pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing Monday.
Paul Flores is facing first-degree murder charges in the commission of a rape, while Ruben Flores is charged for accessory after the fact for allegedly assisting in hiding Smart's body after she was killed.
The judge in the case, Craig B. van Rooyen, granted the prosecution’s request Monday to hold Paul Flores in custody pending the outcome of the trial, determining that he was both a flight risk and posed a danger to the community. However, van Rooyen scheduled an additional bail hearing after ruling that Ruben Flores was neither and should be allowed bail.