A felon who killed a Desert Hot Springs man in a sales dispute that led to vandalism and an ultimately deadly confrontation was found guilty Tuesday of murder.
A Banning jury deliberated barely a day before convicting James John Angle of Indio of the 2018 death of Joseph Gimino. Along with murder, jurors found Angle guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily allegations.
The prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments at the Banning Justice Center Monday morning, and Riverside County Superior Court Judge Rene Navarro sent jurors behind closed doors afterward. They deliberated most of Monday afternoon before breaking for the day. The panel returned to the Banning courthouse Tuesday and announced verdicts by early afternoon.
Navarro scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 12. Angle is being held without 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 Detective 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 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 66523 Pierson Blvd., and began slashing the tires on Gimino’s pickup.
Security surveillance video cameras recorded most of what transpired next.
Gimino raced outside with a .45-cailiber semiautomatic pistol, then proceeded to “chase Angle around the vehicle,” according to Castillo.
Angle had planned on a confrontation and ran to the passenger side of his SUV, where he grabbed a 12-gauge pump shotgun and fired, striking the victim in the upper right arm, the declaration said.
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.
The victim was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, where he spent three days in intensive care before dying. 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. Angle was arrested without incident on Jan. 10, 2019, in Rancho Mirage.
He had a prior conviction for grand larceny.
Villegas had priors for battery on a peace officer and possession of controlled substances for sale.