An Atascadero man who went missing last week was found dead on Tuesday. A man from Paso Robles was charged with murder, a hate crime, and animal abuse, according to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office.
According to a news statement from the Atascadero Police Department, Todd Joseph Pinion, 34, of Atascadero was last seen on Wednesday. The next morning, his dog Spock was found dead at the bottom of the Cuesta Grade.
Then, on Saturday, police found Pinion’s body in the woods near Tassajara Creek.
The 21-year-old Tyler Grant Stevens, who lives in Paso Robles, was arrested and put into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of murder, according to the police.
The District Attorney’s Office charged Stevens with two felonies of murder and animal abuse in connection with Pinion’s dog Spock on Tuesday.
The murder was said to have been done with a knife in the charge, the release said.
The release said that Stevens is also being charged with a hate crime enhancement for the murder, which is said to have been done “because of the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation.”
The lawsuit also said Stevens was convicted of assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon in 2022. This is one strike under California’s Three Strikes Law.
The “Three Strikes” rule says that anyone who is found guilty of a felony after having been convicted of a serious or violent felony before can get twice as much time in prison as a normal person. If you break the law a third time, you could spend at least 25 years or even life in jail.
It says that Stevens will be tried on Wednesday in Department 3 of the San Luis Obispo Superior Court.
The probe is still going on.
The Atascadero Police Department can be reached at 805-461-5051 if anyone has information about the case.
Source: SLO County man charged with hate crime, murder in death of Atascadero man
