Holy cold case – the “Batman” killer has been caught!
Detectives have cracked the infamous 1989 “Batman” murder, arresting a barber last week for allegedly shooting a man dead in a Bronx movie theater on the film’s opening day in a fight over a bag of popcorn, officials said.
Ricardo Jimenez, 38, was nabbed in The Bronx at the Late Night Hustler’s barbershop, where he’s worked the last two years – just a couple of miles from the scene of the shootout at the Whitestone Cinema, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said.
Jimenez opened fire in the packed theater just as the opening credits of the movie were ending, killing 20-year-old Sean Worrell of Brooklyn, police said at the time.
“Everybody was destroyed,” Worrell’s mom, Marva Worrell, told The Post. “I would tell this guy he’s still living but my son’s dead. I don’t know what my son would have been.”
Jimenez pleaded not guilty as he was arraigned on murder and gun charges in Bronx Criminal Court Friday. His wife, Margaret Gonzalez, was in court with two children but declined comment.
The two men squabbled on July 3, 1989, after Worrell got the last bag of popcorn, police said. Jimenez allegedly said he was going to get his gun from his car, to which Worrell replied, “Go ahead.”
When he returned, Jimenez hollered, “Hey! You’re the guy with the popcorn!” and shot at Worrell once but missed, police said. Worrell then pulled out his own gun and fired once at Jimenez, but missed, too. Jimenez fired again, hitting Worrell in the head, cops said.
“Just as the credits fade away, next thing you hear is ‘Pow! Pow! Pow!’ ” said The Post’s Douglas Montero, who was in the theater that day. “As we ran out, I saw a guy laid out face up in the aisle. He was clearly dead.”
Prosecutor Ana Vizzo told a judge on Friday that three witnesses had identified Jimenez from photo arrays as recently as May 17 of this year.
After the shooting, Jimenez fled. He served four years in prison, starting in 1990, for assault, robbery and drug possession. Sources said he later served time in New Jersey for robbery, drugs and guns.
Jimenez got out two years ago and – using the alias Ricardo Sillie – returned to The Bronx.
Worrell said that she feels “closure” but that “I don’t want to see this guy [Jimenez]. What is that going to do for me?”
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