Fresno man who made national headlines for his Starbucks attack tells his side of the story
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Ryan Flores said he never intended for this robbery to end in violence. He described to jurors what happened when his plan was foiled after another customer stepped in to stop the crime.
"Kid barely had any diapers. He needed rash cream, low on food, I had five bucks to my name, less than a quarter tank of gas," said Flores.
He described why after driving around for close to 30 minutes he decided to rob a Starbucks in July.
"When I drove up and looked through the window and it looked like there to be nobody in there."
On the stand, Flores admitted his desperation did not justify his actions. He says he did not expect anyone to get hurt during the holdup and was shocked when he was hit from behind by a chair from a Good Samaritan.
"At that point, when I had the gun and the knife in my right hand, I was struck."
His plan fell apart right after he told the barista to give him the money.
"When I get stuck you know I tense up and I'm trying to figure what's going on."
Step by step, the self-admitted would be robber then describes wrestling with the Samaritan, Cregg Jerri. During the confrontation, he said he passed up several opportunities to stab him.
"I, I, I, I don't want to hurt nobody. I don't want to stab nobody, that wasn't my intention."
Flores said he wanted to concede and quit after four to five blows. He claimed he was seriously injured and received a concussion and stab wounds after the tables were turned on him.
Under questioning by the prosecutor, he was asked whether he wore a Transformers mask to conceal his identity and if he was waving the gun when he walked into the coffee shop. He confirmed those details were accurate.
