FRESNO (KMJ) — The man dubbed the “Starbucks Bandit,” who attempted to rob a branch of the popular coffee shop and got into a fight with the man who tried to stop him, is now facing a four year sentence in state prison.
Ryan Michael Flores was found guilty in November of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery. The sentencing took place inside Fresno County Superior Court Wednesday morning.
“I can wholeheartedly tell the court that from the date he walked into that Starbucks, and to the day he’s sitting here right now, there’s a huge light that has been shed,” said his mother Pamela Chimenti.
She told the court that her son needs to look after his family and his young son, and did not believe that he set out to hurt anyone during the robbery in July.
“He understands that now, and I say that only because of the things that he has said to me. In the beginning he didn’t need any help, he didn’t want to go into a program, he didn’t need anybody’s help, he didn’t have a problem.
“Now, today, he understands he has a problem.”
But Judge W. Kent Hamlin described Flores as expressing little remorse.
“His plan was to go in, intimidate a couple of young women with a knife and what appeared to be a gun, and when that plan didn’t work then yes it led him to a spot where he was seriously injured.
“He’s remorseful, but it’s a stretch to say that just because he didn’t intend to injure anyone when he went in, that he didn’t set that course of events in action.
“He’s the one who brought that knife, and that was not just a little pocket knife. He’s the one who brought the fake gun.”
Ryan Michael Flores is expected to be eligible for parole by the middle of 2019.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
