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US News


GUNMAN WHO FATALLY SHOT 2 TEENS IN A CALIFORNIA MOVIE THEATER IS SENTENCED TO
LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE

By Richard Pollina

Published Feb. 28, 2024
Updated Feb. 28, 2024, 4:03 a.m. ET

The gunman who fatally shot an influencer and college student inside a
California movie theater in 2021 learned his fate during his sentencing hearing
on Monday.

Joseph Jimenez Jr., 23, was slapped with life in prison without the possibility
of parole for the ruthless killings of Rylee Goodrich, 18, and Anthony Barajas,
19, who were on their first date.

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The teens were shot in the back of their heads during a late-night showing of
the horror film “The Forever Purge” at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings in Los
Angeles on July 26, 2021, according to prosecutors.

Goodrich, a sophomore at Grand Canyon University, died instantly from the
gunshot wound, according to police.

4
Joseph Jimenez Jr. makes a brief statement prior to being sentenced at the
Riverside Hall of Justice on Feb. 26, 2024, in Riverside, Calif., as defense
attorney Charles Kenyon listens. AP

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Barajas, a rising TikTok star with more than 1 million followers, was rushed to
the hospital, where he spent five days on life support before he died.


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Jimenez initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the cold-blooded
murders.

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His defense team attempted to make the case that their client suffered from
schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication because he ran out of pills
before the shooting.

In a jailhouse interview with the Riverside Press-Enterprise in 2021, Jimenez
claimed he heard voices in his head from “Abigail” and another voice telling him
that the teens were dangerous right before carrying out the shooting.

Jimenez told the outlet the voices told him the only way he could save himself
from the victims was to shoot them.

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4
Rylee Goodrich was shot and killed at a Regal theater on July 26, 2021.
Instagram

During Jimenez’s trial, however, Superior Court Judge Timothy J. Hollenhorst
ruled that Jimenez was sane during the shooting.

Hollenhorst reason for ruling Jimenez sane while carrying out the murders was
due to the killer’s “normal interaction” with a female concession worker before
the movie, where he asked for her phone number, according to the LA Times.

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The judge also backed up the ruling sharing that Jimenez had stolen Goodrich’s
wallet after shooting her and Barajas “execution style.”

Hollenhorst added that Jimenez ran out of an emergency exit door afterward and
didn’t immediately tell Corona police about the voices.

4
Anthony Barajas, a rising social media star, was shot at the theater and later
died in the hospital. Instagram

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“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 during
the trial.

Carlos Gonzalez, Jimenez’s former friend who attended the movie with two others,
testified during his trial that Jimenez had been acting strange, muttering to
himself at dinner on the night of the shooting, according to ABC 7.

Gonzalez told the court that Jimenez repeatedly told himself, “I can’t do that
to them” during the film. 

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The interaction leading up to the killing prompted the friends to leave the
theater.

4
Catherine Barajas, mother of murdered teen Anthony Barajas, wipes away tears as
she gives her victim impact statement as Jimenez Jr., (L) looks on at the
Riverside Hall of Justice on Feb. 26, 2024. AP

Gonzalez said he asked Jimenez to leave with them, which he declined. 

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The killer’s former friend added that if he had known Jimenez planned on killing
the couple, he would have done more to stop him.

They were the only people — other than the couple — in the theater when Jimenez
carried out the unprovoked killings.

What do you think? Post a comment.

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Jimenez was apprehended at his home the following day after his friends called
police to say he returned home from the movie about halfway through the showing
and returned with a bag holding a “strap.”

Police shared they found a gun matching the caliber of the murder weapon upon
his arrest.

Investigators found no connection between Jimenez and the couple.

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