Person of interest in Kristin Smart case arrested on weapons charge

SAN PEDRO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A San Pedro man named as a person of interest in the Kristin Smart disappearance case was arrested Thursday on a weapons charge stemming from search warrants served last year.

Paul Flores, 44, was arrested at around 9:45 a.m. near Summerland Street and Western Avenue in Rancho Palos Verdes on suspicion of possessing a firearm as a felon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

In February and April of last year, deputies with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department served several search warrants in California and Washington in connection with the investigation, including at Flores' home.

Kristin Smart case: Search warrant again served at former classmate's home in San Pedro

A search warrant has again been served at the Los Angeles County home of a former classmate of Kristin Smart, who went missing nearly 24 years ago.

Flores was the last person to be seen with 19-year-old Smart after the pair left a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo college party roughly 25 years ago.

Smart's body has never been found despite a two-decade search and sizable rewards seeking information.

September 2016: FBI renews search for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student missing for 20 years

The FBI has launched an excavation project on the edge of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in hope of finding the remains of a student who vanished more than 20 years ago.

City News Service contributed to this report.