Inset images from left to right: Marko Cinan and Justin Joshua Guzman (courtesy of Houston police) and Anthony Sanders (via GoFundMe). Background: Site of the deadly shooting at Houston’s Galleria Mall.
While authorities in Texas were delving into the murder case of a Marine veteran shot in a Houston mall parking garage, a suspect allegedly shared a TikTok video. The video featured himself dancing to rap music with news segments covering the incident playing in the background.
The TikTok user, identified as 22-year-old Justin Joshua Guzman, is one of two individuals now facing charges of murder in relation to the crime. Police became aware of the TikTok video due to a tip from the victim’s mother, as reported by local NBC station KPRC.
Guzman and 23-year-old Marko Cinan stand accused of murder in the June 3 death of Anthony Sanders, a 30-year-old Marine veteran, who was killed in the parking garage of the Galleria Mall in Houston. The shooting occurred in front of Sanders’ fiancee and their toddler son, according to cops.
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“We’re here today because we just want justice for our son,” Sanders’ mother, Ronyel Sanders, told the station. “Anthony passed away protecting his son and his fiancee. That’s what he does.”
The victim’s mother came across the TikTok video of Guzman dancing to the news clips and gave it to police. It appears to have since been taken down. Guzman has some 50,000 followers on TikTok. Several of the videos, some of which feature Cinan, show Guzman lip syncing to rap songs. One of the songs Guzman and Cinan lip sync to, “Graffiti” by rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again, has the lyric “I got locked in that cell and they ain’t let me out.”
Some TikTok users noted the irony.
“This didn’t age well,” one user quipped.
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As Law&Crime previously reported, police were first called to respond to reports of a shooting at the mall around 5 p.m. on the day in question.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, Sanders’ fiancee told detectives he was picking her up from work the night of the shooting. As she was leaving the mall, the fiancee entered an elevator with a group of men, including the defendants, whom she did not know. The fiancee stated the men asked her a question, which she ignored. One of the men then allegedly called her a “stupid ugly b—.” The men exited the elevator and the fiancee got off at a different floor to meet Sanders.
The fiancee detailed what had transpired to Sanders, who then drove around the parking garage, with their child also in the car, to find the men, the affidavit said. He saw the men and drove up to them. Sanders and the defendants had a verbal exchange before returning to their respective cars. While exiting the parking garage, the suspects were apparently passengers in a Chrysler 300 in front of Sanders when the driver “brake-checked” the victim. The suspects and Sanders then got out of their cars, cops said.
Guzman allegedly tapped his bag and said, “you don’t want to mess with me.” That’s when Guzman and Cinan pulled out guns and started shooting Sanders, according to the affidavit. The suspects allegedly fired at least 14 times.
After the shooting, cops working at the mall converged on the scene. They saw Sanders’ fiancee screaming for help. Paramedics rushed Sanders to the hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. His fiancee and their son were not injured in the shooting.
Guzman and Cinan sped away but were apprehended a short time later. When Guzman stepped out of the car, at least two spent cartridges fell off his lap, cops noted. The Chrysler was riddled with bullet holes as the suspects kept firing as they were driving away, according to police.
Police initially let the defendants go, officials said in a press release.
When detectives later spoke with Guzman and Cinan, they allegedly claimed the shooting was in self-defense. According to the affidavit, Guzman told detectives they were leaving the mall when Sanders came “on their tail.” He said they pulled over and got out of their car to wave Sanders past them. But Guzman claimed that Sanders started threatening them, saying “I’ll f— y’all up,” “Ya’ll are p—ies” and “I’ll do it to y’all right here.” The defendant told cops Sanders had a gun and knife on him — but investigators found no weapons on the victim, the affidavit stated.
The victim’s parents, veterans themselves, spoke with local CBS affiliate KHOU.
“We’re here for justice, justice for Anthony and also to stand for what he stood for as a person, and also to bring awareness to what’s going on in today’s society here in Houston,” said his father, Frank Sanders. “This was uncalled for.”
A GoFundMe page described Sanders as a “devoted father.”
Cops arrested Cinan on June 25 while Guzman turned himself in to police on Monday. Cinan has a $1 million bond while Guzman is being held on a $750,000 bond.
