Report: Friends Of Corona Movie Theater Shooting Suspect Left Screening Early Because Of His Strange Behavior
CORONA (CBSLA) – The friends of a 20-year-old man suspected of shooting and killing two people in a Corona movie theater snuck out during the screening because they were concerned about his strange behavior, according to a report.
According to police records obtained by the Press-Enterprise newspaper Monday, three friends who attended the movie on the night of July 26 with Joseph Jimenez suspected that he had brought a gun to the screening.
The friends allegedly snuck out of the theater without warning any theater staff or calling police. Two of them later told detectives they saw Jimenez run out of the theater and drive away in a car, the Press-Enterprise reports.
There were a total of six ticketholders in the screening. Jimenez, his three friends, and the two victims, 18-year-old Rylee Goodrich and 19-year-old Anthony Barajas.
On the night of July 26, Corona police said employees found the two victims while cleaning the theater following the 9:30 p.m. showing of "The Forever Purge," at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings movie theater.
Goodrich was pronounced dead at the scene. Barajas was rushed to a hospital and placed on life support. He was taken off life support and passed away on July 31.
Late on the night of July 27, Corona police detectives raided Jimenez's residence in the 19000 block of Envoy Avenue in El Cerrito, where they found a gun and evidence linked to the movie theater shooting, the department said. The gun matched the caliber of the weapon used in the shooting.
There is no evidence that the suspect knew the victims, police said. At this time, investigators do not have a motive in the attack.
Barajas was a popular TikTok personality with nearly 1 million followers, and Goodrich was home on summer break from Grand Canyon University in Arizona.
Riverside County prosecutors initially charged Jimenez with murder and attempted murder, with sentencing enhancements for using a firearm causing death, great bodily injury, and lying in wait. However, an additional count of first-degree murder will likely be added. He is slated to be arraigned Thursday.
