John Raymond Flores, 19, was born in Thousand Oaks, California. His family moved back to Colorado, living in Colorado Springs and Leadville. They returned to California in 1982. John graduated from Newburn Park High School and worked construction while attending Junior College.
John was a health buff who practised stringent diet and relentless exercise. He was a happy young man, well liked in his community.
On January 20, 1989, he was at a neighborhood party when a fight broke out. John Terry Yurek slammed Flores’ head on the pavement while others stomped and kicked him to death.
According to the victim’s family, Yurek was a member of a Los Angeles Police Department family. A jury, including the sheriff’s wife, acquitted him at his trial. Another assailant got probation and the District Attorney dropped charges against the rest.
After a verbal attack on the authorities, the victim’s father, Charles Flores, was jailed by the same judicial system that freed his son’s murderers. The father served 92 days until members of the community posted bond for him. He was convicted of terrorism.
Following this ordeal, Charles and Sharon Flores returned to Colorado. They live at Vallecito Lake near Durango. John Flores was their only child.