Beaumont man to stand trial for Indio murder over Porsche crash

A parolee accused of gunning down a man after he crashed his car into the defendant’s Porsche SUV in Indio must stand trial on a murder charge, a judge ruled Wednesday.

James “Chip” Milton Nathaniel, 30, of Beaumont, was also held to answer to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, but spousal abuse and criminal threats counts were dismissed at the conclusion of his preliminary hearing.

Nathaniel is accused of shooting Apolonio Carranza about 2 a.m. on April 19, 2015, in front of a home in the 43000 block of Kenya Drive.

The 35-year-old victim was found sitting in the driver’s seat of his Nissan Murano, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died at the scene about 10 minutes after police arrived.

Nathaniel and Carranza were among a group of people who were at the Kenya Street home that night, with many of the other witnesses telling police that they saw the two men arguing in front of the home, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant.

One witness said Carranza challenged Nathaniel to race him for the “pink slips” to their SUVs and then rammed Nathaniel’s Porsche just prior to the shooting.

After 10 to 12 shots were fired, Nathaniel called for his wife to get into the Porsche, at which point he sped off, police and prosecutors allege. Indio police released Nathaniel’s name and photo four days after the shooting and asked for the public’s help in finding him.

He was arrested in San Bernardino on May 21, 2015, by local police working with a U.S. Marshals’ task force. A handgun not related to the killing was recovered during the arrest, Indio police Sgt. Daniel Marshall said.

Nathaniel had been released from prison in the spring of 2014 after doing time for shooting a man in 2005 as the victim drove in Indio. He’s being held on $2 million bail and will return to court Jan. 25 for a post-preliminary hearing arraignment.