A man, who shot and killed a TikTok star and an 18-year-old college student at a Corona movie theater three years ago, was sentenced Monday to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Joseph Jimenez Jr., 23, was sentenced in a Riverside courtroom. He was convicted during a December trial of two counts of first-degree murder, as well as a sentencing enhancement of personal use of a firearm causing death.
On July 26, 2021, Jimenez shot 19-year-old TikTok star Anthony Barajas and college sophomore Rylee Goodrich, both of Corona, during a showing of the film “The Forever Purge” at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings theater, according to authorities. Six people were in the audience for the 9:35 p.m. showing; Barajas and Goodrich were on their first date.
In what authorities described as an “unprovoked attack,” Jimenez went to his car and got a bag containing a gun. He sneaked up behind the victims as the credits rolled and opened fire. Investigators said there was no indication Jimenez knew the victims or had any interaction with them before the shooting.
Barajas was shot “execution-style” and Goodrich was also shot point-blank in the head, authorities said. Goodrich died at the scene, and Barajas died days later at a hospital after being taken off life support.
Jimenez was arrested the day after the shooting after his friends told police he left the theater halfway through the movie and returned with a bag holding a “strap,” according to a search warrant. Investigators found a gun that matched the weapon used in the shooting, as well as additional evidence at Jimenez’s house.
Jimenez initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and said during his insanity trial that he was not taking his schizophrenia medication the day of the killings and heard voices in his head from “Abigail” and another person saying that the victims were dangerous.
In a jailhouse interview with the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Jimenez said that he had been recently diagnosed with schizophrenia but that he had stopped taking his medication because he ran out of pills. Jimenez told the newspaper that the only way he could save himself from the victims was to shoot them.
Jimenez was ruled sane by Superior Court Judge Timothy J. Hollenhorst in December.
During the trial, Hollenhorst said his decision to find Jimenez sane was influenced by the fact that he stole Goodrich’s wallet after the shooting and had a “normal interaction” with a female concession worker before the movie, in which he asked her for her phone number. Hollenhorst also pointed out that Jimenez warned his friends about the shooting, ran out of an emergency exit door afterward and didn’t immediately tell Corona police about the voices.
“There is no question that the defendant suffers from schizophrenia. … It is also clear to this court that the defendant was not treating his mental health issues appropriately by not regularly taking his medication,” Hollenhorst said at the time.
Barajas was known on TikTok as itsanthonymichael and had nearly a million followers on the social media platform. He had attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana.
Goodrich was a sophomore at Grand Canyon University. Her family said she and Barajas went to the theater on a first date after Barajas had just returned from a trip to Hawaii.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
