Judge Reverses Self, Revokes Bail for Woman Convicted of Murder

A judge ordered a woman convicted of second-degree murder into custody Monday, reversing an earlier decision to allow her to remain free on bail until sentencing.

On Friday, Victoria Flores, 35, was convicted of shooting and killing a woman two years ago. Flores faces a sentence of 18 years to life in prison.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Morris Jones had denied the district attorney’s request to revoke bail, the common procedure after a murder conviction.

He decided Flores could remain free on $100,000 bail until a Jan. 26 sentencing hearing, a decision that outraged prosecutors and the victim’s family.

On Monday, Jones called a hearing and said that after reviewing case files, he decided Flores posed a risk of flight and was a possible threat to witnesses who had testified against her.

The judge said the district attorney’s office had not brought to his attention information about Flores failing to appear for court dates in previous cases.

Jones “did today what he should have done three days ago,” said Bill Crisci, a supervisor in the district attorney’s office. “I’ve never seen anybody get convicted and not get immediately” taken into custody.

After three days of deliberations, a jury convicted Flores of killing Rhonda McClinton, 31, in a fight outside a bar on Pico Boulevard south of Koreatown at 2 a.m. on May 28, 1993.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Walter Mueller, the prosecutor in the case, said, “Of course, I am pleased. I believe the judge did the proper thing” in revoking Flores’ bail.

Jones denied Flores’ request for a few days of freedom to put her affairs in order. He also moved her sentencing hearing to Jan. 4.