Beaumont Parolee To Stand Trial In 2015 Indio Shooting Death After Decade Of Delays

BEAUMONT, CA — A Beaumont parolee accused of gunning down a man more than a decade ago for crashing into the defendant's Porsche SUV on an Indio street in 2015.

James "Chip" Milton Nathaniel, 39, is suspected of killing 35- year-old Apolonio Carranza over 10 years ago. His trial begins Thursday. He has been incarcerated since 2015 and is currently being held at the John Benoit Detention Center, in lieu of $1 million bail.

Nathaniel is charged with first-degree murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, witness intimidation, spousal abuse and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

The case is being overseen by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling, who seated a jury on Tuesday afternoon to hear the matter. He has directed the jurors to return to the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Thursday for opening arguments.

The People v. Nathaniel ranks among the county court system's oldest unresolved murder cases. It has been plagued by repeated delays, attributable to the defendant's changes in counsel, ongoing requests for dismissals, hearings to access law enforcement officers' confidential records and some other matters not specified in court records going back to his arrest in May 2015.

According to the Indio Police Department, the two men, along with multiple other people, had been visiting a house in the 43000 block of Kenya Drive in the predawn hours of April 19, 2015.

Witnesses later told police that an argument erupted between Nathaniel and Carranza for reasons not altogether clear at the time.

According to a police arrest warrant declaration, one witness said that during the confrontation, Carranza challenged Nathaniel to race him for the "pink slips" to their respective SUVs, then he rammed Nathaniel's Porsche.

The enraged defendant allegedly pulled a handgun and opened fire on the victim as he sat behind the wheel of his Nissan Murano, the affidavit said.

A dozen shots were fired at close range, killing Carranza on the spot, police alleged.

Nathaniel then allegedly got into his SUV and drove away. Witnesses called 911, and patrol officers arrived less than 10 minutes later.

The defendant's identity was publicized four days after the shooting. He was taken into custody without incident in San Bernardino on May 21, 2015.

Nathaniel had been released from prison in the early spring of 2014 after completing a sentence stemming from a 2005 attack in which a motorist was shot in Indio, according to court records.

Nathaniel was less than a year out of prison when the confrontation with Carranza occurred.

Details connected with the spousal abuse allegation were unavailable.