At a pretrial hearing for the boy
accused of killing a 15-year-old gay student, police investigators
testified that the teen bragged he had guns at home if he ever wanted
to kill someone, the Ventura County Star reported.
Brandon McInerney, 15, is being tried
as an adult in the death of Lawrence King, a gay student murdered
last February in Oxnard, California. McInerney was 14 last year when
he allegedly shot King twice in the head during a morning English
class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard. King survived the night
but died on Valentine's Day after being pronounced brain dead.
Police arrested McInerney a few blocks from school.
“Brandon said if he ever wanted to
kill anybody, his dad had a bunch of guns and he had the capability,”
Oxnard Police Sergeant Kevin Baysinger told the court.
King told friends and family that he
was gay, often wore makeup, and is reported to have teased boys.
McInerney has also been charged with
committing a hate crime.
Oxnard Police Officer Ramiro Albarran
testified that he interviewed 8 to 10 students about the murder.
According to one student, King told McInerney the day before the
shooting, “Baby, I love you,” Albarran said.
One student said, “Brandon didn't
like Larry King because Larry King was gay and dressed like a girl,”
Albarran testified.
In May, King's family was cleared to
pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the foster home where the boy
was living. The family says counselors at Casa Pacifica are
responsible for the eighth-grader's death because they encouraged him
to express his sexuality.
In a brief submitted to the court
earlier this year, prosecutors alleged investigators had found a
training video in McInerney's possession titled Shooting in
Realistic Environments and various neo-Nazi books.
Citing McInerney's troubled home and
young age, defense lawyers have asked the court for leniency.