Although regarded by historians as a thief and outlaw, Flores was considered among Mexican-Americans as a folk hero akin to Jesse James and who was thought of as a defender against vigilante movements in the years following the American settlement of California and its incorporation into the United States.
However, the activities of Flores and other insurrectos such as Salomon Pico and Joaquín Murrieta against American and foreign-born settlers not only created long-lasting suspicion and hostility towards Mexican-Americans but also divided the traditional Spanish class structures of the Californios and the poorer peasants as well.
[1] Born to a prominent family, according to Horace Bell, "Juan Flores was a dark complexioned fellow of medium height slim, lithe and graceful, a most beautiful figure in the fandango or on horseback, and about twenty-two years old.
Missing the wagon somewhere on the road, Flores instead led a group of outlaws on a raid against San Juan Capistrano looting the shop of a local Russian-Polish merchant Michael Krazewski.
[6][7] They had been after an informant who had previously testified against him for horse stealing years earlier and, when the man was able to escape before their arrival, they proceeded to loot the town and spent the night "in drunken revelry" until leaving sometime around 2:00 am.
[8] Barton's death caused a backlash against outlaw violence in the region as members of Flores' gang were hunted down and captured by authorities with a Los Angeles posse that included 51 American merchants and Californio ranchers, Manuel Cota the Temecula leader of 43 Luiseño scouts, the Monte Rangers former Texas Rangers and members of the vigilante gang the "El Monte Boys", and posses from San Bernardino and San Diego.
[9] A posse led by the Californios Andrés Pico and Tomas Avila Sanchez, surrounded and apprehended them, however Pancho Daniel and Flores himself managed to escape northward through the mountains.
With "practically every man, woman and child present in the pueblo" numbering an estimated 3,000 people, Flores was tried for murder and hanged near the top of Fort Hill in what would later be present-day downtown Los Angeles on February 14, 1857;[12][13] Addressing the crowd from the scaffold, he stated "he bore no malice, was dying justly, and that he hoped that those he had wronged would forgive him".