LOS ANGELES – The man who fatally shot two people inside a Corona movie theater was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Joseph Jimenez, 23, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the 2021 deaths of Anthony Barajas, 19, and Rylee Goodrich, 18.
Jimenez, a schizophrenic and chronic marijuana user, had claimed insanity. However, a bench trial in December determined he was mentally fit to stand trial and was ultimately found guilty.
“While we are deeply saddened for the loss of the victims and for their families, we hope that justice was delivered for them with today’s sentence,” Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham said in a statement to KTLA. “The judge delivered a very heartfelt sentence recognizing and commenting on the great sorrow and loss experienced by the victims’ families.”
Jimenez shot Barajas and Goodrich during a showing of “The Forever Purge” inside the Edwards Theater at the Crossings shopping center on July 26, 2021, in what prosecutors called a “random and unprovoked attack.”
Both victims were discovered when workers went inside the theater to clean up after the showing.
In an interview with the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Jimenez blamed the killings on “voices” in his head.
Barajas was a rising TikTok star who had amassed nearly 1 million social media followers under the handle “itsanthonymichael” when he was killed.
Authorities said Jimenez acted alone and there was no indication he knew the victims or that Barajas’ role as a TikTok influencer played a role in the murders.