Kristopher Olinger was murdered in 1997 at the turnout by the foghorn.
Jacobo Ruelas, who was 18 when Olinger was stabbed to death and dumped on the Pacific Grove Recreation Trail, faces a potential death penalty if convicted.
Despite years of prodding by Olinger’s mother, Shell Phillips, there were no arrests until 2006, when Pacific Grove police got a “hit” between the state’s new palm print database and a print lifted from the car.
Grasping..
A Soledad man charged in the 1997 slaying of a Peninsula youth told a judge Thursday that his defense has been hampered by the release of evidence by the Pacific Grove Police Department.
(Angel) Ruelas objected Thursday that there was no remedy for him to pursue sanctions against the police department for his inability to have the car tested for his defense.He alleged that the police department and FBI missed some “basic tire impressions” at the scene of the crime.
“What else did they miss?” he said.
After a closed-door hearing, Presiding Judge Russell Scott named retired Judge Philip Sarkisian to hear the case.
Ruelas and his younger brother, Angel Ruelas, are charged with stabbing 17-year-old Olinger and dumping him near the Pacific Grove Recreation Trail, where he was found dead on Sept. 19, 1997.
Prosecutors cannot seek capital punishment for Angel Ruelas, who was 17 at the time of the killing. He faces life in prison without possibility of parole if convicted in a separate trial before Curtis in October.
A memorial bench is at the crime scene.
A judge Thursday ruled there will be separate trials for Soledad brothers charged with the 1997 murder of Monterey High School student Kristopher Olinger, in part because one of the brothers allegedly confessed to the crime.
A jogger found Olinger’s body on the Pacific Grove Recreation Trail on Sept. 19, 1997, the morning after the 17-year-old set out to complete a late-night school photo assignment.
He was beaten and stabbed more than 24 times, and thrown over a cliff along the trail, before he dragged himself back to a turnout where he was found.
Ruelas Brothers Update – Separate Trials For Alleged Killers
Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo has decided to seek the death penalty against homicide defendant Jacobo Ruelas, a county prosecutor confirmed Wednesday.
Ruelas’ younger brother, Angel Ruelas, faces the same charge as Jacobo, but cannot face the death penalty because he was a minor at the time of the slaying. He could face life without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Kristopher Olinger
DNA of one of two brothers charged with the 1997 murder of Kristopher Olinger was found on the steering wheel of Olinger’s car, according to testimony in a grand jury transcript released Tuesday afternoon.
Department of Justice criminalists matched DNA found in the horn area of the steering wheel to Angel Ruelas, 26, of Soledad. The car was stolen from Olinger, 17, when he was stabbed to death along the Pacific Grove Recreation Trail. It was later found abandoned in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose.
Dumb donkeys.
Kris Olinger was not arrested, he was the victim of murder.
Pointed out in the December 06 City Council meeting by Snick.
Update, 12/22 – The Bulletin issued a correction in the next issue.
Angel Ruelas
A former standout South County high school wrestler will be tried as an adult for the 1997 slaying of a Pacific Grove teen, though he was 17 when the killing took place, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Angel Ruelas, 26, is charged along with his older brother Jacobo Ruelas Jr., 27, with killing Kristopher Olinger, 17, who was found stabbed and beaten to death on the Pacific Grove Recreation Trail.
Coaches who knew Angel Ruelas a decade ago, when he was a promising wrestler, expressed surprise and dismay over his alleged role in the killing. “No doubt about it,” Simon Jimenez said of Angel Ruelas’ scholarship chances. “He was definitely going go be considered one of the best wrestlers in the state.The opportunity was lost over a stolen car, the coaches recalled.
“He didn’t even return to school that summer,” Jimenez said. “We were definitely looking forward to him coming back his senior year.”
Yah, jocks are always winners. NOT
Police also report killers’ parents obstructing.
Prosecutors said charges have been filed against Angel Ruelas, younger brother of Jacobo Ruelas, who has already been charged in Olinger’s death.
Pacific Grove Police Chief Carl Miller said Tuesday his department had also forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office a case against the Ruelas brothers’ parents for obstruction of justice. No charges have been filed against them.
Jacobo Ruelas was arrested May 13 after a massive manhunt in South County. He was linked to the crime when a palm print lifted from Olinger’s stolen car was matched with his palm print in a new state databank.
Miller said Tuesday afternoon that there is also forensic evidence against Angel Ruelas, including fingerprint and DNA evidence. Ruelas was transported to Monterey County Jail from Corcoran State Prison on Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in juvenile court this morning.
A spokeswoman for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Tuesday that Jacobo Ruelas, 27, pleaded no contest to carjacking and robbery charges in that county in 1998 and was sentenced to six years in state prison.
Lana Wyant said Ruelas committed the robbery on May 5, 1998, and the carjacking on May 7, 1998. Details of the crimes were not available Tuesday afternoon.
While Ruelas did not enter a plea Tuesday, Martinez said he is denying guilt. The Salinas lawyer said Ruelas was raised by hardworking parents in Soledad and graduated from Gonzalez High School.