A Portland man will spend the next decade in prison after pleading guilty to shooting a stranger nine times in the back — motivated in part, he told investigators, because the victim was “trying to embarrass” him.
Cresencio Flores, 27, pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree manslaughter in the July 28, 2024 shooting death of 45-year-old Jacob Forrest outside the Louisa Flowers Apartments in Northeast Portland. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras sentenced Flores to 10 years in state prison as part of a plea deal that dropped an original murder charge.
The deadly confrontation unfolded around 6 a.m. that Sunday morning near Northeast 6th Avenue and Northeast Holladay Street in the Lloyd District. Surveillance video captured the entire sequence of events, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.
Flores and a friend were standing outside the public housing complex smoking cigarettes next to their bicycles when Forrest arrived in a black sedan with three companions. Forrest stepped out of the vehicle carrying what appeared to be a handgun and crossed Northeast Holladay Street toward the two men.
The gun Forrest displayed was fake — a realistic-looking replica — though Flores would not learn this until after the shooting. Video showed Forrest tucking the weapon into his waistband before retrieving a paper bag and exchanging words with Flores.
The confrontation escalated when Forrest slapped Flores across the cheek and tossed his bicycle into the street. But as Forrest turned his back and began walking away, Flores drew his own 9mm handgun and fired nine times. Multiple bullets struck Forrest in the head. He was pronounced dead when Portland police arrived at the scene minutes later.
The two men were complete strangers prior to the incident, investigators determined. They had never crossed paths before that summer morning.
When detectives arrested Flores two months later on outstanding warrants, he offered investigators a mixed explanation for his actions. Flores claimed he feared for his life, not knowing the gun Forrest displayed was fake. But he also told police he believed Forrest was trying to embarrass him, according to the prosecutor’s memo.
That dual motivation — both fear and humiliation — became central to plea negotiations. Prosecutor Ryan Solomon argued the deal was appropriate given Flores’s self-defense claims, even though surveillance footage clearly showed Forrest walking away when the shots were fired.
“I really think that is what drove the negotiations here,” Solomon told Judge Ramras during Monday’s hearing, referring to the self-defense argument. The judge agreed with the proposed sentence. Flores declined to speak during the proceeding.
In a separate January hearing, Flores pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse and was placed on the sex offender registry.
The Louisa Flowers Apartments, a 240-unit building that opened in November 2019, has been plagued by violence since its doors opened. This marks at least the fifth killing connected to the property. Another man was shot dead outside the building in September 2024. Two additional men were killed there in June 2023 and September 2024. A double shooting on Christmas Day 2020 left one person dead inside an apartment.
Residents have grown increasingly frustrated with conditions at the complex. Home Forward, which manages the property, told local media in September 2024 that it has invested in on-site security and safety improvements, but acknowledged challenges with crime in the surrounding area. The Lloyd District location sits just blocks from the Oregon Convention Center and Moda Center.
The Medical Examiner ruled Forrest’s death a homicide by gunshot wounds. His family was notified of the arrest and requested privacy, though they authorized the release of his photograph to help investigators develop leads during the initial investigation.
Detectives Ryan Foote and Travis Law led the homicide investigation under case number 24-188386. The case drew attention from multiple local outlets following Flores’s September arrest and again this week after his sentencing.
Solomon told the court that dropping the murder charge in favor of manslaughter reflected the complexity of the case, particularly Flores’s claim that he believed his life was in danger when Forrest displayed what appeared to be a real weapon. First-degree manslaughter carries a lower statutory sentencing range than murder, which set the stage for the 10-year term.
With credit for time served since his September 2024 arrest, Flores will remain in state prison until at least 2034. The plea agreement closes a case that left one man dead over a brief, violent encounter between two strangers who crossed paths for the first and last time that summer morning in Northeast Portland.