District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced that on April 10, the California Board of Prison Terms denied parole for the 16th time to 70-year-old former Healdsburg resident Manuel Avalos Flores, who was convicted of the second degree murder of 23-year-old Ricoberto Arroyo in 1981.
At that time, Flores and victim Ricoberto Arroyo each lived in Sonoma County and had known each other in their native state of Mexico. According to Flores, he held a grudge against Arroyo because he believed him to be responsible for ending a romantic relationship that Flores had in Mexico. Witnesses stated that Flores always carried a .38 caliber handgun with him.
On the evening of January 16, 1981, Flores went out drinking with three companions and late in the evening ended up at a bar in Windsor. Upon arrival, Flores saw that Arroyo was also at the bar. Witnesses stated that Arroyo was not drinking heavily or otherwise causing any disturbances that evening.
According to Ravitch’s statement, Flores followed Arroyo out of the bar, confronted him and shot him multiple times. He then threatened his companions unless they drove him away. He was ultimately arrested and convicted of second degree murder.
On April 10, at a parole hearing at San Quentin, Flores testified and after the California Board of Prison Terms considered prison files and psychiatric evaluations, the board issued a three-year denial of parole, stating Flores “lacks even the most basic level of insight into why he murdered an unarmed man.” Additionally, commissioners found that “despite Flores’ advanced age, he is still strong enough to pull a trigger, and if he was to become intoxicated and angry in the community again, that might happen.”
Flores will not be eligible for parole again until April 10, 2021 at which time another hearing on the issue will occur.
— submitted by Joseph Langenbahn
