Joseph Jimenez will stand trial for the shooting of teens Rylee Goodrich and Anthony Barajas after a judge found there was enough evidence to prosecute Sept. 2. Prosecutors allege Jimenez shot the couple at Corona’s Regal Edwards Theater in the Crossings Shopping Center July 26, 2021.
The charges allow District Attorney Mike Hestrin to decide whether to seek the death penalty against Jimenez.
Jimenez pleaded not guilty due to insanity.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, theater employees found the teens shot in the head after the movie ended. Barajas died after being treated at a hospital.
Corona police arrested Jimenez in his home in El Cerrito the next day. Police found a handgun that matched the caliber used in the murder, according to the District Attorney’s office.
Police found Jimenez following witness statements, they said in a release after the arrest.
The trial date is not yet set.
Riverside Superior Judge Bernard Schwartz presides.
Deputy District Attorneys Brittany Bulthuis and Kevin Beecham prosecute.
Charles Kenyon of Riverside’s Kenyon Law Group defends.
Case number RIF2103205.
