Nearly two years after his disappearance and death of Todd Joseph Pinion, a date has been set for a murder trial of the suspect accused of killing an Atascadero man because he was gay.
Tyler Stevens, 23, was charged in November 2024 with the murder of Pinion, a 34-year-old who was reported missing on Oct. 30, 2024. His dog, Spock, was found dead at the base of the Cuesta Grade the next morning.
Police found Pinion’s body on Nov. 2, 2024, in a remote area near Tassajara Creek and arrested Stevens.
Days later, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office charged Stevens with murder and animal cruelty charges. He also faces three sentencing enhancements for a hate crime, a prior conviction and use of a deadly weapon — in this case a knife — as well as another special hate crime allegation that carries a life sentence without parole.
Stevens pleaded not guilty and denied the enhancements on Dec. 18, 2024, but an investigator who had interviewed Stevens on Nov. 2, 2024, said he admitted to murdering Pinion.
On Monday, SLO County Superior Court Judge Crystal Seiler set Stevens’ trial to begin April 12 running half-days in the afternoons only. Both parties estimated the trial would take around four weeks, not including jury selection.
Stevens’ case has been in the limbo-stage of trial scheduling and pre-trial hearings for the past six months — which is not uncommon for complex cases that require multi-week trials.
Melody Pinion, Todd’s mother, was glad to hear a trial date had finally been set but expressed frustration at the pace of the justice system and how she felt there was a “bias” in favor of giving the defense time to prepare, in her experience.
“What about the victim’s rights and the families left behind with nothing but memories?” she said in a text to The Tribune.
“I’m happy we finally have a trial date,” she said. “Now let’s hope that the date sticks and nothing gets in our way anymore.”
If convicted of premeditated first-degree murder, Stevens faces life in prison without parole. The DA’s Office said it would not pursue the death penalty for the hate crime special allegation, which is separate from the enhancement.
If found guilty of a lesser charge like second-degree murder, he faces a maximum sentence of 39 years to life in prison with opportunity for parole sooner as a youthful offender because he was under 26 years old at the time of the crime.
The next pre-trial hearing was set for Dec. 7.
This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 12:11 PM.
Chloe Shrager is the courts and crimes reporter for The Tribune. She grew up in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in Political Science. When not writing, she enjoys surfing, backpacking, skiing and hanging out with her cat, Billy Goat.
Source: www.sanluisobispo.com
