Jury selection has begun in Indio for the trial of a Beaumont man accused of murder. James “Chip” Milton Nathaniel, 39, faces charges related to the alleged shooting death of Apolonio Carranza, 35, in 2015. The incident reportedly followed a collision involving the victim’s vehicle and Nathaniel’s Porsche SUV.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling initiated the process at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on Monday, summoning multiple panels of prospective jurors for screening as to their availability and qualifications. Pretrial motions for the case commenced last week, with opening statements anticipated for Thursday. Nathaniel is currently held at the Benoit Detention Center in lieu of $1 million bail. He is charged with first-degree murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, witness intimidation, and spousal abuse. The charges also include sentence-enhancing allegations related to gun use and great bodily injury.
Known as "The People v. Nathaniel," this case is noted among the county court system’s oldest unresolved murder proceedings. Its resolution has been subject to repeated delays over more than a decade since Nathaniel’s arrest. These delays have been attributed to several factors, including Nathaniel’s changes in legal counsel, ongoing requests for dismissals, and hearings concerning access to law enforcement officers’ confidential records, as well as some other matters not specified in court records dating back to his arrest in May 2015.
According to the Indio Police Department, the confrontation between Nathaniel and Carranza occurred in the predawn hours of April 19, 2015. Both men, along with multiple other individuals, had been visiting a house in the 43000 block of Kenya Drive. Witnesses later informed police that an argument erupted between Nathaniel and Carranza, though the precise reasons were not altogether clear at the time.
A police arrest warrant declaration includes a witness account stating that Carranza challenged Nathaniel to race him for the “pink slips” to their respective SUVs. The witness further claimed that Carranza then rammed Nathaniel’s Porsche. The affidavit alleges that an enraged Nathaniel subsequently pulled a handgun and opened fire on Carranza while he was seated behind the wheel of his Nissan Murano. Police alleged that a dozen shots were fired at close range, resulting in Carranza's death at the scene. Nathaniel then allegedly entered his SUV and drove away. Witnesses to the incident called 911, and patrol officers arrived at the location less than 10 minutes later.
Nathaniel’s identity was made public four days after the shooting. He was taken into custody without incident in San Bernardino on May 21, 2015. At the time of the alleged confrontation with Carranza, Nathaniel had been released from prison less than a year prior, having completed a sentence. Court records indicate this earlier sentence stemmed from a 2005 attack in Indio, where a motorist was shot.
