Wednesday was Day 7 of the trial of 17-year-old Brandon McInerney for the 2008 murder of 15-year-old classmate Larry King. McInerney is being tried as an adult for murder and hate crime allegations.
Prosecutors claim McInerey had close ties to white supremacists and neo-Nazis and began presenting evidence on Wednesday, reports the Ventura County Star.
Oxnard Police Detective Mike Marostica detailed the many things taken during a search of McInerney's Oxnard home seven hours after King was shot. Marostica described notebooks containing white supremacy images that were seized from McInerney's house, as well as ammunition, DVDs and books on Hitler and an article about the Virginia Tech shootings. There also was a DVD titled, "How to Shoot in Realistic Environments."
He testified that McInerney's home, where his father and grandfather also lived, was cluttered when they searched it. ... Multiple guns were found in McInerney's grandfather's bedroom during the search. Marostica did not remember if the closet where most of the guns were found was locked or not.
McInerney's former girlfriend testified on Tuesday but prosecutors were "doubtful" about some of her testimony, at one point "ask[ing] if she would lie to protect McInerney."
She said McInerney once told her a gay kid at school was bothering him, and she told him to not get into trouble for beating him up. King had been calling himself gay, and the prosecution is arguing the defendant was a white supremacist who disliked gays and planned King's killing.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox, reading from a statement Samantha gave on the day of the shooting, asked her if she told police that McInerney had talked about being a skinhead. Fox asked if she remembered telling police that she had told McInerney to leave King alone because he was gay and that's just who he was. When Samantha said she didn't remember, Fox reminded her that the interview was taped.
Police say McInerney shot his classmate twice in the head at point-blank range in a computer lab in February 2008. King was biracial, openly gay and sometimes wore makeup and dresses to school. The defense has portrayed King as as sexually "aggressive" and suggests that McInerney was "provoked." Witnesses called so far have included a teacher and administrator testifying about King's gender identity, and students who testified about McInerney's previous threats to kill King.
King was shot in the head at Oxnard's E.O. Green School in February 2008. The trial was moved to Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley because of pretrial publicity. McInerney has plead not guilty and rejected a plea bargain. The teen faces up to 53 years to life in prison if convicted of all charges.
Rod 2.0's complete coverage on Lawrence King HERE.
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