Testimony to begin Monday for man accused of 2003 murder in national forest

BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) - Prosecution testimony is slated to get underway Monday in the trial of a 44-year-old man accused of gunning down a one-time friend over money more than 20 years ago in the San Bernardino National Forest.  

James Robert Landi of San Mateo was arrested last December following an extensive investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Cold Case Unit.

Landi is charged with first-degree murder, a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations for the death of 18-year-old Reynaldo Nino Burts in October 2003.   

Superior Court Judge Mark Singerton seated a jury Thursday and ordered the panel to return to the Banning Justice Center Monday for opening statements and the first round of witnesses.

Landi is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center.   

According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney's Office, Landi and Burts had been friends for a time, but the relationship soured after Landi, then 21, discovered that the young man had allegedly swiped unspecified items from the defendant's father's property and failed to repay money he had borrowed.   

Harboring ill will, Landi plotted to kill the victim during a hike in the mountains, prosecutors alleged.   

The brief said Landi invited Burts and a mutual acquaintance, Oscar Celaya, to go trekking along the South Fork Trail, near Highway 74 south of Idyllwild and west of Mountain Center, during the first week of October 2003, though a specific date could not be established.

The defendant informed Burts that he would be taking along a .22-caliber pistol that he'd consider selling to the victim after they did a little target shooting on the trail, according to court papers. Burts had no reason to be suspicious and expressed interest in buying it, prosecutors said.  

At some point during the excursion, Landi, who had already relayed his alleged intentions to Celaya, persuaded Burts to go off the trail with him to do a little recreational shooting, according to the brief. When they reached a dry creek bed, Landi took out the handgun and fired multiple rounds into Burts' face, head and chest, killing him on the spot, prosecutors alleged.   

Celaya assisted in moving the body to a less visible place a short distance away, but there was no attempt to bury the remains, according to the prosecution. Landi discarded the firearm and the clothes he had worn on the trek somewhere along the highway before returning home, the brief alleged. They were not recovered.   

Several people who knew the defendant and victim learned of the alleged slaying within a month or two, but they did not go to the authorities, partly because the circumstances were unclear, with people pointing fingers in different directions, according to the brief.

A man hiking near the South Fork Trail on March 21, 2004, discovered Burts' decomposed remains and summoned sheriff's deputies. An autopsy soon confirmed the victim's identity and the fact he had died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Central Homicide Unit detectives identified Landi as a person of interest early on, but due to conflicting details received from Celaya, who by then had ended up in the criminal justice system for robberies and burglaries, and other individuals, there weren't sufficient grounds to seek a murder
charge, according to court documents.

The Cold Case Unit reopened the case in August 2025, tying up loose ends and uncovering evidence previously unavailable, leading to charges and Landi's arrest in Northern California a few months later.  

He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.