Tyler Grant Stevens, a 21-year-old from Paso Robles, stood before a judge Wednesday morning for the first time since his arrest over the weekend.
Stevens is charged with murdering 34-year-old Todd Joseph Pinion. He also faces a hate crime enhancement and animal abuse charge. Pinion's dog, Spock, was found dead along Highway 101 a few days before Pinion's body was discovered near Santa Margarita over the weekend.
"We believe that this murder was committed by the defendant because of his belief about the sexual orientation of the victim," said Dan Dow, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney.
In court on Wednesday, Stevens' defense attorney, Matthew Kraut, asked the judge to continue his arraignment to November 21. Stevens has not yet entered a plea and remains in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail without bail.
Stevens already has one strike under California's Three Strikes law. In 2022, he was convicted of felony assault on a peace officer related to a reckless driving incident in San Luis Obispo.
Because of that strike, Dow says that if Stevens is convicted of murder, his sentence would be doubled, but because he's under the age of 25, California laws protect him from a longer sentence.
“Given that the defendant is only 21 years old, California has a youthful offender law that says if you're under... if you're 25 or under when you commit an offense, no matter how serious it is, if you're sentenced to more than 25 years to life, you have to serve 25 years and then you're eligible for parole," Dow explained.
Kraut declined to comment further on the case.
