Cregg Jerri was later threatened with a lawsuit by the robber, who was sentenced to four years in prison.
The California man who stepped in to stop a Starbucks robbery — and took a knife to the neck for his trouble — witnessed a bizarre turn of events when he was later accused of excessive force by the would-be thief.
It happened last year, when a robber wearing a mask and brandishing a gun and knife held up the Starbucks location in Fresno. Out of nowhere, good Samaritan Cregg Jerri grabbed a chair and struck the robber with it.
Jerri said he had to act for the safety of the baristas in the store.
“I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, this is a robbery,” the 58-year-old recalled to Inside Edition. “I just couldn’t leave them in this situation.”
After hitting the robber, 30-year-old Ryan Flores, with the chair, Flores put up a fight.
“He just kept fighting and the more he fought me, the more scared I got, and then when he had the knife and hit me, it was just fight for your life,” Jerri said.
Jerri was stabbed in the neck. However, the business executive was able to grab the weapon and stabbed Flores several times.
“I'd obviously been stabbed next to main artery," Jerri said. "I was scared, nervous."
When police got there, they arrested Flores and Jerri was hailed for his bravery.
In a shocking twist, the man who attempted to rob the Starbucks claimed he was the victim.
Flores even threatened to sue Jerri on the grounds that he used "excessive force."
The robber's mom even appeared on Headline News, calling her son the real victim.
“Starbucks brought in counselors for the baristas for what they witnessed that man do to my son," she told host Ashleigh Banfield on Headline News.
Stunned, Banfield replied, “You're blaming him? Are you kidding me? Are you seriously here saying you're going to sue that man?”
Jerri told Inside Edition that those accusing him of using excessive force should know, 'If he didn't stop he was going to kill me.”
In court, the robber actually blamed the good Samaritan for stopping him from getting away.
The jury didn't buy it and found Flores guilty of attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. During sentencing, his mom argued that her son is not a violent criminal.
“I don't believe my son went in there to hurt anybody,” she said.
But the judge wasn't impressed and in November, he sentenced Flores to four years in prison.
Even after all the attention and drama, Jerri told Inside Edition he would not have acted differently if he had to do it all over again.
“I would hope I would do it again, just to take care of and save somebody,” he said.
RELATED STORIES
