Accused Corona theater shooter pleads not guilty by reason of insanity to 2 murders

The 20-year-old man accused of shooting to death two teenagers on a date at a Corona movie theater in July pleaded not guilty, and not guilty by reason of insanity, to two counts of murder on Monday, Sept. 27.

Joseph Jimenez did not speak during the hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice. His attorney, Charles Kenyon, made the pleas to Superior Court Judge Gail A. O’Rane.

The two different not-guilty pleas were necessary, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, because there would be two phases if the case goes to trial: a guilt phase, and a phase to determine whether Jimenez was insane.

In California, defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity still must be treated in a state mental hospital.

Jimenez would have to remain there, Deputy District Attorney Kevin Beecham said, until he is judged to be sane and not a threat to the public. But unlike cases in which a defendant has been ruled incompetent to stand trial and later rehabilitated, Beecham said, Jimenez would not continue to face charges.

Kenyon requested two weeks to review a list of psychiatrists who could examine Jimenez. The District Attorney’s Office has hired its own psychiatrist to examine him.

The attorneys are scheduled to return to court on Oct. 22 to discuss the appointment of a defense psychiatrist.

Kenyon declined to discuss with a reporter the decision regarding the plea.

Enhancements to the murder charges of lying in wait and multiple murders make Jimenez eligible for the death penalty if convicted as charged. District Attorney Mike Hestrin had not yet decided whether to pursue that sentence, Hall said.

District attorneys typically consider such factors as a defendant’s mental state, the circumstances of the crime, information from defense attorneys, and the wishes of victims’ family members.

Jimenez, in a jailhouse interview with a Southern California News Group reporter, said he suffers from schizophrenia and that he heard voices that told him to kill the pair to save his friends and family from harm. Jimenez added that he regretted the slayings.

Corona residents Rylee Goodrich, 18, and Anthony Barajas, 19, along with Jimenez, were the only customers remaining in the theater at the Regal Edwards cinema on July 26 after three friends of Jimenez fled when he retrieved a gun from his car and began talking to himself, a sworn search warrant affidavit said. The friends left without alerting anyone to the danger, according to the affidavit.

Barajas was a 2019 graduate of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana; he was an honor student, a soccer star and had lead roles in school plays. He had hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok.

Goodrich, a graduate of Corona High School’s STEM Academy in June 2020, was enrolled at Grand Canyon University in Arizona.

Jimenez, who graduated from Santiago High School in Corona, is not believed to have known the victims. He lived in an unincorporated area of the county near Corona known as El Cerrito.

He is being held without bail at Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.