A bystander who intervened in an armed robbery at a California Starbucks earlier this summer could soon face a lawsuit – from the alleged armed robber.
“He has 17 total stab wounds, lacerations, and defensive wounds,” Pamela Chimienti, the mother of the alleged robber, told KSEE News in California. “The guy, in my opinion, went from a Good Samaritan to a vigilante.”
On July 21, security cameras at a Starbucks location on Golden State Blvd. in Fresno, Calif. captured the moment a man, wearing an Optimus Prime mask, demanded cash from the store clerk at gunpoint.
According to the video, the suspect threatened the clerk with the gun, which police later said was a fake. He then pulled out a long knife and insisted the clerk empty the register into a yellow bag.
That’s when 58-year-old Cregg Jerri intervened, striking “Optimus” from behind with a chair. A violent tussle ensured on the ground as both men struggled for the knife, with each sustaining significant stab wounds.
The alleged thief was later identified by police as Ryan Michael Flores, 30. He was transported to hospital in serious condition following the altercation, with a number of stab wounds.
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Police also said Jerri needed six staples to close a knife wound he sustained to his neck, and has since made a full recovery. According to the Fresno Bee, Flores remains in Fresno County Jail on $155,000 USD bail, while he awaits trial for second-degree robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
Now the family of Flores says he plans to file an excessive force lawsuit against Jerri over the stab wounds he received during their altercation.
“Stabbing somebody that many times, it doesn’t take that many stab wounds to get somebody to succumb to you,” Pamela Chimienti told KSEE News.
Ty Kharazi, the attorney representing Jerri, believes Flores doesn’t stand on solid ground should he decide to proceed with the suit.
“He (Flores) pulled a gun, the (cashier) starts laughing at him,” Kharazi told the Fresno Bee. “Then he pulls a knife and (Jerri) was hitting him with the chair. (Flores) turns and stabs Jerri … My client is a Good Samaritan.”
At the time of the incident, police did not press any charges against Jerri over his involvement in the alleged robbery. On the contrary, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer praised Jerri’s actions in involving himself in a potentially dangerous situation.
“There’s probably not very many people in America who would do what Cregg Jerri did last night,” Dyer said last July.
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