VENTURA : Trial Starts for Man Accused of Assault

Trial began Wednesday for a Ventura man accused of assault, kidnaping and attempted murder of a prostitute in January.

Philip E. Flores, 26, is accused of beating Cynthia Zemba so severely that she suffered brain damage and will have to spend the rest of her life in a nursing home, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles R. Roberts Sr. said.

Roberts told a Ventura County Superior Court jury that Flores picked up Zemba the afternoon of Jan. 14 near Plaza Park in downtown Ventura.

Her body was found about an hour later in a barranca off Hall Canyon Road after a prospective house buyer noticed movement in what appeared to be discarded clothing, Roberts said.

Flores’ attorney, Philip A. Gunnels, told the jury that his client gave Zemba a ride after she flagged him down. She invited him to smoke marijuana and he suggested driving to Hall Canyon, the attorney said.

When they got there, Gunnels said, Zemba accused Flores of stealing her pot and punched him. “In a reflexive response, right or wrong, he struck back,” Gunnels said. But Zemba merely had a bloody nose, he said. When she refused to leave Flores’ van, he threw her purse into the barranca to lure her out, the attorney said. Gunnels said Zemba was standing at the edge of the ravine when Flores drove off. She must have suffered the injuries in a fall, he said.

Flores faces a possible life sentence if convicted on all charges.