Inmate who allegedly stabbed Paul Flores in prison is charged with attempted murder

The inmate who stabbed Paul Flores, the convicted killer of Kristin Smart, has been charged with attempted murder and assault, according to a news release from the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

On Aug. 23, Flores, 46, was sent to the hospital in “serious condition” after he was stabbed in the neck in the Pleasant Valley State Prison yard in Coalinga.

Flores was transferred from North Kern State Prison earlier that month after he was sentenced in March to 25 years to life for Smart’s murder.

Correctional staff saw Flores fall to the ground around 10 a.m. that morning. Jason Budrow, 43, was found nearby with a “manufactured weapon,” the corrections department said. He is suspected of the attempted murder of Flores.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office charged Budrow with four felonies: attempted murder, assault by an inmate serving a life sentence, assault with a deadly weapon by an inmate, and possession of an inmate manufactured weapon.

The attempted murder charge carries two enhancements for use of a deadly weapon and great bodily injury. The two assault charges also carry great bodily injury enhancements.

Flores’ condition improved to “fair” by the next day, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said, and he was transferred back to the prison.

The Fresno District Attorney’s Office said Budrow “slashed” Flores’ neck with the manufactured weapon. Harold Mesick, Flores’ attorney, previously told The Tribune Flores was cut or stabbed on the side of the neck — not the throat, as some reports said.

Budrow is serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole for two separate murders, the first that sent him to prison 12 years ago and the second once he was already behind bars.

The first murder conviction was in 2011 and was his second strike under California’s Three Strikes law. He was convicted of strangling and murdering his girlfriend at the time in Riverside County.

About a decade later in March 2021, CDCR said, Budrow strangled and killed Roger Reece Kibbe, a fellow inmate at Mule Creek State Prison. Kibbe was known as the serial rapist and killer who was dubbed the “I-5 Strangler.”

Kibbe was serving six consecutive life-without-parole sentences for six counts of first-degree murder, on top of an earlier life-with-parole murder sentence.

In a letter sent to the San Jose Mercury News, Budrow admitted to killing Kibbe as punishment for the I-5 Strangler’s murders.

CDCR and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office did not disclose whether they believe Budrow had a motive for the alleged attack on Flores.

This story was originally published December 6, 2023, 11:24 AM.