Corona movie theater shooting: 'Look at me!' victim's father yells at suspect in courtroom outburst
CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- The man accused of fatally shooting a young woman and critically wounding her friend at a Corona movie theater appeared at a court arraignment Friday, after which he was verbally confronted by the woman's father.
The suspect, 20-year-old Joseph Jimenez, wore handcuffs and an orange jail jumpsuit as he walked toward a courtroom exit.
As he passed the father of 18-year-old Rylee Goodrich, the father exclaimed: "Hey, look at me, bro! Look at me! Look at me, dude! That was my ..." His voice trailed off as he burst into tears and was comforted by a friend.
Escorted by sheriff's deputies, Jimenez walked out of the courtroom without incident. He has been charged with one count of murder with a sentencing enhancement of personal use of a firearm causing death and one count of attempted murder with a sentencing enhancement of personally inflicting great bodily injury and a sentencing enhancement of personal use of a firearm causing great bodily injury.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office has also filed a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait.
"We have filed a lying in wait special circumstance and what that means is that makes him eligible for the death penalty," said John Hall, a DA spokesperson.
Jimenez did not enter a plea, opting instead to have his arraignment postponed. Arraignment was rescheduled for Aug. 5. He is being held in custody without bail.
Goodrich and Anthony Barajas, 19, were at a showing of "The Forever Purge" at the theater on Monday when they were shot, police said. The teens are friends and went to watch the movie together, investigators said. Theater employees discovered the victims who had been shot execution-style after the movie, sources say.
The two victims had been shot in the head, according to the DA's charging documents.
Goodrich died at the scene, and Barajas, a well-known TikTok user, remained on life support at a hospital as of Friday.
Jimenez was arrested at his home in El Cerrito Tuesday.
When searching Jimenez's home, police found a firearm that "matched the caliber of the weapon used in the murder" and a wallet belonging to one of the victims, authorities said. Jimenez did have a movie ticket to "The Forever Purge" showing that the victims attended, investigators said.
Officials say it appears the deadly shooting was unprovoked, and there was no indication he knew the victims. Authorities also said no one involved in the crime had gang affiliations.
A number of vigils for the victims were scheduled to be held -- two on Friday at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and New Beginnings Community Church in Norco, and another on Saturday at the theater where the shooting took place.
GoFundMe pages have been set up for Goodrich and Barajas.
