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Court documents detail reasoning for delayed sentencing request for Paul Flores

Flores sentencing delay.JPG
Posted at 5:20 PM, Nov 23, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-23 22:50:08-05

Court documents filed by Paul Flores' defense team provide more insight into the request to have Paul's sentencing hearing next month postponed.

The motion filed Nov. 18 in Monterey County Superior Court states Paul's counsel is "in the process of preparing a comprehensive motion for new trial and other post-verdict, pre-conviction motions." It goes on to say that his attorneys won't have enough time before his Dec. 9 sentencing date "to file and serve the motions in time for the prosecution to respond or for the Court to consider them."

Monterey County Superior Court Judge Jennifer O'Keefe set the sentencing date back on Oct. 18 when jurors convicted Paul, 46, of the 1996 murder of Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart.

A separate jury acquitted Paul's father, Ruben Flores, of accessory after the fact. He was charged with helping Paul hide Kristin's body, which has never been found.

Paul is facing a sentence of 25 years-to-life behind bars.

The motion is set to be heard Dec. 2 at 9 a.m. in Salinas.

For more on the Kristin Smart case and months-long trial for Paul and Ruben Flores, click here.