A California man who allegedly tried to hold up a Starbucks barista at gunpoint, now plans to sue the customer who tried to stop him.
Authorities said Ryan Flores, 30, attempted to rob a Starbucks in Fresno in July, but 58-year-old Cregg Jerri picked up a chair and hit Flores in the back with it. The two got into a violent scuffle, and both sustained injuries. Now the Flores family says their son plans on suing Jerri for excessive force, according to YourCentralValley.
Flores is in jail and faces a felony attempted robbery charge. His mother, Pamela Chimienti, said she doesn’t condone her son robbing the store, but argued that Jerri should not have attacked her son the way he did.
The video of the attempted robbery and ensuing struggle went viral. It's difficult to see exactly what happens as the two men tangle, but investigators said Flores stabbed Jerri in the neck. Jerri then managed to get control of the knife and used it to stab Flores multiple times.
Chimienti said her son had 17 stab wounds.
"The guy, in my opinion, went from a Good Samaritan to a vigilante," she said. "Stabbing somebody that many times, it doesn't take that many stab wounds to get somebody to succumb to you."
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said it’s “ludicrous” that Jerri could face a lawsuit for trying to stop an armed robbery and getting stabbed in the neck.
Legal analyst Charles Magill told YourCentralValley that Jerri has little to worry about.
“Good luck finding an attorney that wants to represent a young robber who’s going to be convicted of robbery,” Magill said. “That’s not going to sell very well to the jury.”
Flores is being held on a $155,000 bail and is expected back in court next month.
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