Man who threatened Washington Square mall clerks, security with knife sentenced to nine years in prison

A man who brandished a large kitchen knife — threatening both store clerks and security officers with it while shoplifting items at Washington Square mall last fall — has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

On June 6, a Washington County jury convicted Jesus Esteban Flores on two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and second-degree theft.

The sentence is the result of Flores committing multiple crimes at the Washington Square mall on Sept. 17, 2023. Authorities say he entered a department store, placed a knife on a shoe counter, asked for a pair of shoes before leaving the store without paying for them once the clerk retrieved them.

He then shoplifted a hat from a neighboring store before putting on the stolen shoes, having briefly stepped out of the store.

According to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, Flores reentered the mall and went to a clothing store where he concealed multiple shirts under his clothes.

“An employee approached Mr. Flores to intervene, but the defendant displayed the knife in his waistband and stepped toward the victim. That employee backed away and watched as the defendant left the store with the blade in hand as he asked this victim if he was ‘trying to get the knife?’” said a statement from the district attorney.

When Flores noticed a security officer following him, he allegedly confronted the officer, pointing his knife and making verbal threats to kill the officer.

In turn, the officer backed away with other mall security following at a distance. When Tigard police arrived, they confronted the defendant who refused to drop his knife.

“After the defendant refused multiple orders, they fired 40mm less lethal foam rounds at the defendant. Officers then seized the knife, returned the merchandise, and took the defendant to jail,” said the district attorney’s office.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Brandon Thompson ordered the defendant serve three years of post-prison supervision.

The Washington County District Attorney Office said that District Attorney Kevin Barton has launched a campaign focusing on protecting businesses from shoplifters.

In addition, the Tigard Police Department operates a special Tigard Commercial Crimes Unit, which not only investigates business burglaries, robberies and counterfeiting but also works extensively on crimes such as shoplifting and organized retail theft.

A Washington Square mall shoplifting blitz in the fall of 2021 resulted in the arrest of 13 individuals by Tigard police. Those arrested were part of small groups or were working by themselves.

This corrects a previous version of this story to reflect that Jesus Esteban Flores was sentenced to nine years in prison and not 12.