Flores Daniel Gang

Flores Daniel Gang, was an outlaw gang also known as "las Manillas" (the Handcuffs), throughout Southern California during 1856-1857. It was led by Californio's Juan Flores and Pancho Daniel. Contemporary newspaper accounts of las Manillas all reported that the leader of las Manillas was originally Pancho Daniel, but that Juan Flores assumed the leadership role after Daniel was injured in the Barton ambush. According to the contemporary account of Harris Newmark, Flores had been sent to prison for horse-stealing and was just another member of the gang.

After leaving prison, Juan Flores joined with Pancho Daniel and a dozen or so ranch hands, miners and other Angelinos such as Anastasio García, Jesus Espinosa, Andrés Fontes, Chino Varelas, Faustino García, Juan Cartabo and "One-eyed" Piguinino among others. Subsequently, Daniel, Flores and their "los Manilas" gained a following among the Mexican-American population in the San Luis Obispo and San Juan Capistrano areas with his numbers growing to fifty men. One of the largest gangs in the state, "los Manilas" terrorized the San Luis Obispo County and Los Angeles County for the next two years, primarily stealing horses and cattle to sell in Mexico and conducted raids against American settlers homesteads in the area committing armed robbery and murder. Due in part to attention by newspapers, opposition to what became known as the "Flores Revolution" began to take form by public officials and law enforcement as well as upper-class Californios such as Andrés Pico, Juan Sepúlveda and Tomas Avila Sanchez all of whom later participated in the capture of Flores.

In late-December 1856 or early-January 1857, Flores attempted to pursue and rob a wagon traveling from Los Angeles to San Juan Capistrano. 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. Wounding a store assistant, they carried nearly all the goods in the store on two horses promising to return to the town. The next day, Flores made another raid on the town in which German shopkeeper George Pflugardt was murdered and several stores were looted. 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.

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