Who is Justin Guzman? TikToker arrested for Marine's murder in Texas
The incident unfolded on June 3, 2025, inside a parking garage near the Galleria Mall on Westheimer Road around 5 pm, according to local media reports.
Who is Justin Guzman ?
Justin Guzman, 22, turned himself in to Houston Police on Monday. He was charged in the killing of 30-year-old Anthony Sanders, a Marine veteran, last month, as per KPRC.
Guzman, a Tik Toker made lip-sync, dancing videos on his primary account that has over 130,000 followers before it got banned. Later, he started operating another account @guzmanhimself1, where he garnered 52,000 followers as of July 1, 2025.
During a court hearing on Monday, Sanders' parents, both Army veterans, showed a TikTok video where Guzman danced in front of a TV news report about the shooting, according to KHOU.
'We're here for justice. Justice for Anthony and also to stand for what he stood for as a person,' Sanders' father, Frank Sanders, told the outlet. 'This was uncalled for.'
Guzman blocked Anthony Sanders's car
On June 3, Sanders had a confrontation with Guzman and Marko Cinan, 23, in the Galleria Mall parking garage. Reports said they had insulted Sanders' fiancée in the mall elevator where she worked. After the argument, Sanders tried to drive away with his fiancée and their 10-month-old son, but Guzman reportedly 'brake-checked' him and blocked his car with his own.
Sanders got out of his car to deal with the situation, but he was shot ten times while his fiancée and baby stayed inside the car.
Royal Sanders said she was thankful her son stepped out of the vehicle before the shots were fired. 'Because had he not stepped out, the baby was in the car, the fiancée was in the car,' she told KHOU at the courthouse Monday.
Police detained Guzman, Cinan, and a third man soon after the shooting, but they were later released. Cinan turned himself in on June 25 and was booked into the Harris County Jail.
Guzman's lawyers claimed he acted in self-defense and said Sanders had pulled out a knife during the argument, according to the Financial Express. But police said they found no weapon on Sanders or at the scene.
Guzman was being held on a $750,000 bond
Guzman was being held on a $750,000 bond. Cinan, who already had a criminal record, was being held on a $1 million bond, according to Law and Crime.
Both men appeared in several TikTok videos on Guzman's account, which had over 50,000 followers. In some of the videos, they made gun-like gestures with their hands and pretended to shoot at the camera.
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