California man sentenced to life for 2021 killing of TikTok star Anthony Barajas

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A California man has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting two people, including TikTok personality Anthony Barajas, in a movie theater in 2021.

Joseph Jimenez, 23, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus 50 years on Monday, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.

He was accused of killing Fylee Goodrich, 18, and 19-year-old Barajas on July 26, 2021, during a showing of a movie at the Regal Edwards Theater in Corona, a city located about 23 miles east of Anaheim.

Barajas' mother, Catherine Barajas, told reporters after sentencing on Monday that she was "very happy this part is over."

"It's been a very long two and a half years, and it's time to close this chapter to focus on our son and to carry on his legacy," she said. "We're going to do that by continuing to do small acts of kindness one at a time, to make a difference in the world and to keep him alive."

Movie theater staff cleaning the theater on July 26 found Goodrich and Barajas were shot in the head, with Goodrich declared dead and the scene and Barajas transported to the hospital where he remained on life support for several days until he succumbed to his injuries.

Jimenez, who was 20 at the time, was arrested a day after the shooting at his residence in Corona. He was later charged with two counts of murder with a sentence enhancement of personal use of a firearm causing death.

In September, he entered a plea of not guilty due to insanity, with his attorneys arguing during trial that he was experiencing a schizophrenic episode when he shot his victims.

A judge in December, however, ruled that Jimenez was sane at the time of the killings.

"Obviously, this is the end of a really painful experience for the entire community," Jimenez's attorney, Charles Kenyon, said in a press briefing after sentencing.

"As the judge correctly pointed out, there are three families that lost somebody, and it's really hard to really articulate how devastating this trial and this experience was for everybody."

Kenyon went on to blame the mental health system for the murders, stating its failures caused Jimenez to "suffer from a series of inadequate hospitalizations and just a lack of adequate mental health care."

"I think it just goes to show you that our current system is very broken and this is the ultimate example of how serious the results and consequences can be."

Barajas was known on social media as @itsanthonymichael and had nearly 1 million followers on TickTok.