A California inmate has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to kill another inmate convicted in the murder of Kristin Smart, according to officials. Jason Richard Budrow, 43, was charged on counts involving crimes by a prisoner and possessing a weapon, as well as enhancements for great bodily injury, after he attacked Paul Flores inside Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. The attack took place on August 23, when Budrow slashed Flores’ neck with a “manufactured weapon.” Flores was hospitalized but returned to prison two days later.
Flores, who was convicted in 2022 and sentenced last March, is serving a 25-year-to-life sentence for the murder of Kristin Smart. Smart, a 19-year-old, disappeared from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo over Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Budrow, on the other hand, was serving a life sentence without parole for strangling his girlfriend in 2010 when he killed his Mule Creek State Prison cellmate, Roger Reece Kibbe, also known as the “I-5 Strangler,” in 2021.
If Budrow is convicted of the charges related to the assault on Flores, he could face 27 years to life in prison, along with a nine-year determinate sentence for the enhancements. The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office has scheduled Budrow’s arraignment for January 8.
This incident highlights the ongoing violence and potential dangers within the prison system, as inmates with violent histories continue to pose threats to one another. The attack also raises concerns about the need for increased security measures and supervision within correctional facilities to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
