Deliberations start in trial of Indio man accused in deadly shooting

Jury deliberations got underway today in the trial of a convicted felon accused of killing a Desert Hot Springs man in a sales dispute that led to vandalism and an ultimately deadly confrontation.

James John Angle of Indio is charged with first-degree murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily allegations for the 2018 death of Joseph Gimino.

The prosecution and defense delivered closing statements at the Banning Justice Center on Monday morning, after which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Rene Navarro sent jurors behind closed doors to begin weighing evidence from the trial.

Angle is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility.

His co-defendant, 31-year-old Raymond Villegas Jr., pleaded guilty last year to being a felon with a gun, as well as charges tied to another case, and was sentenced to 16 months in state prison.

According to an arrest warrant declaration filed by Desert Hot Springs police Det. Troy Castillo, Angle had purchased a backup generator from Gimino in early December 2018 via an online vendor, but within a few days of the defendant retrieving it, he re-contacted the victim and "accused him of originally stealing the generator from him -- Angle -- and then reselling it back to him."

There were "multiple" messages from Angle allegedly demanding the victim return his cash, which Gimino refused, according to the affidavit.

On the night of Dec. 11, 2018, Angle went to the victim's business, where police suspected an illicit gambling operation was active at the 66000 block of Pierson Blvd., and began slashing the tires on Gimino's pickup truck, court papers alleged.

Security surveillance video cameras recorded most of what transpired next.

Gimino spotted the activity and raced outside with a .45-cailiber semiautomatic pistol, then proceeded to "chase Angle around the vehicle," according to Castillo.

Angle had evidently planned on a confrontation and ran to the passenger side of his SUV, where he grabbed a 12-gauge pump shotgun and fired one time, striking the victim in the right upper arm, the declaration alleged.   

Gimino collapsed, seriously wounded. His pistol flew out of his hand, landing nearby, where Villegas, who had been observing the confrontation and knew Angle, picked up the gun, then got into the defendant's vehicle, and the two sped away, Castillo wrote.

The victim was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, where he spent three days in intensive care before ultimately succumbing to the shotgun wound. However, two days prior to his death, he was alert and spoke with investigators, giving them general details that they used to obtain an arrest warrant for both Angle and Villegas.   

The latter was taken into custody after a pursuit in Desert Hot Springs on Dec. 22, 2018. He identified Angle as the shooter during an interview with detectives, according to Castillo.

Angle was arrested without incident on Jan. 10, 2019, in Rancho Mirage.

He has a prior conviction for grand larceny, according to court records.   

Villegas had priors for battery on a peace officer and possession of controlled substances for sale.