A bus driver told law enforcement he kept a bench between himself and a Minneapolis man who had followed him off the bus and had been threatening to kill him, according to a complaint.
Law enforcement responded May 15 to a silent alarm on a bus at Riverside Avenue and 25th Avenue South, with notes that a man was threatening the driver. The driver said the man had been bothering a woman rider, so he told him to leave her alone. That was when the man began threatening to kill him, the driver said, standing next to him and repeating that he was going to do it.
The driver told officers he believed the man was going to physically assault him. At one point, he said, the man pushed against him, which kept him from driving the bus. The driver got off and the man followed. He kept a bench between himself and the man so the man could not assault him, the driver said.
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Santos Richard Flores, who was 34 at the time of the alleged offense, is charged in Hennepin County District Court in a complaint filed Nov. 6. The complaint alleges the threat was made to terrorize or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing terror. It charges a felony count of threats of violence with reckless disregard of risk, which carries up to five years or a $10,000 fine or both. A misdemeanor count of fifth-degree assault for causing fear of bodily harm or death carries up to 90 days or a $1,000 fine or both. The complaint came with a summons to appear in court as directed rather than an arrest warrant. It does not state a court date.
