The lone individual of interest in the disappearance of California school pupil Kristin Smart has been arrested on a weapons charge 25 years after she vanished with no hint, police stated.
Paul Flores, 43, of San Pedro, was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles’ harbor space on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.
Flores has a earlier felony DUI conviction, KSBY reported.
Flores — the final recognized individual to see Smart alive when she went lacking from California Polytechnic State College at San Luis Obispo in 1996 — was taken into custody following search warrants executed at his house final yr as half of the continued investigation into her disappearance, sheriff officers stated.
The FBI and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Workplace served search warrants at a number of residences in two states related to Flores final February. One other search warrant was executed at Flores’ Los Angeles County house in April. All of the search warrants have remained sealed, the Los Angeles Instances reported.
Sources advised the newspaper investigators performed the searches to get proof, together with DNA, which will reveal what occurred to Smart. Flores, who additionally attended the college, was final seen strolling on a path to the faculty’s dorms with the 19-year-old freshman when she disappeared, the newspaper reported.
Flores was questioned when Smith went lacking however has not been charged in her disappearance. He has refused to cooperate with investigators since initially being interviewed on the time, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.
Smart was declared lifeless in 2002, though her physique has not been discovered.
A spokesman for her household, in the meantime, declined to remark on Flores’ arrest, the Tribune reported.
Family of Smart, who was from Stockon, have sued Flores in civil courtroom, however he has denied allegations of being concerned in her disappearance. A San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s spokesman, Tony Cipolla, stated he “continues to be an individual of interest” in Smart’s case, the Los Angeles Instances reported.
“There aren’t any different suspects,” former San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ed Williams reportedly stated of Flores in 1997.
Flores has been launched from custody since posting $35,000 bond late Thursday, CBS Information reported. It’s unclear if he’s employed an lawyer who might remark on the weapons charge.
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