A Ventura County Judge has ruled that the teenager charged with shooting Larry King during a high school computer class will be tried as an adult.

McInerney is fifteen years old – three years shy of the cutoff imposed on youth sentences (he was fourteen when the crime was committed). As I’ve stated before on this site, that cutoff is there to recognize the difference between rehabilitation possibilities for children and teenagers and those of adults. It also recognizes the difficulty children and teenagers have in making rational decisions.

McInerney announced to many of his classmates that he intended to kill Larry King. He did so in the middle of a crowded room, full of witnesses. And has, up until now, insisted that King had been sexually harassing him at school.

These are not the actions of a rational sane adult.

First, if McInerney actually understood the consequences of murder, it is likely that he would not have announced his intention to kill King to his classmates before committing the crime. He would not have shot him in the middle of a class. These are not the actions of a fully informed adult with total control over his impulses.

Second, the evidence illustrated that McInerney was very close to a police detective who indoctrinated him with the teachings of white supremacy. He was obsessed with Nazi imagery and often spoke about racist doctrine. This child was encouraged by an older person with authority in the community that certain lives don’t matter. He was too young to distinguish these teachings from truth.

Anger about Larry King’s death is appropriate. Committing this teenager without full impulse control or proper moral guidance to an adult sentence, is the same as ending a second life. McInerney is a damaged kid who committed a horrible crime. He is not the same as an adult who lies in wait and murders because of a calculated  and informed disregard for human life.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ken Riley said Wednesday that there was enough evidence to try 15-year-old Brandon McInerney for the February 2008 shooting death of Larry King, also 15. McInerney will be tried as an adult.

Riley says he agrees with prosecutors that the shooting was premeditated and has added the special circumstance allegation that McInerney was lying in wait.

Authorities say McInerney shot Larry twice in the head during a computer lab at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard.

McInerney has pleaded not guilty to murder and a hate crime. He faces 53 years to life in prison if convicted.

Sgt. Kevin Baysinger testified Monday at the preliminary hearing for 15-year-old Brandon McInerney of Oxnard.

Baysinger says he interviewed students at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard who talked about a feud between the teen and victim Larry King, who was killed in a classroom in February 2008.

McInerney, who is charged as an adult, has pleaded not guilty to murder and a hate crime.

The police sergeant says McInerney bragged he had guns at home and told one of the victim’s friends the day before the shooting, “Tell Larry goodbye because you’re not going to see him again.”

The hearing, where the prosecution is required to prove there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial, was to have begun this week, but is now put off until July 8 because Brandon McInerney’s attorney said he needed more time to prepare.

McInerney, who is charged as an adult with murder as a hate crime, has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys had fought unsuccessfully to get the case moved from adult to juvenile court.

If convicted as an adult, he could be sentenced to 51 years to life. If he were convicted in juvenile court, the sentence would be much shorter.

King, 15, often dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. He was shot in the head during a morning class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time. McInerney, then 14, was arrested shortly after the shooting.

McInerney is charged with murder as a hate crime.  His attorneys had fought to get material from the prosecution outlining why they filed the case in adult court.

If convicted he could be sentenced to 51 years to life. If he were convicted in juvenile court, the sentence would be much shorter.

King, 15, often dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. He was shot in the head during a morning class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time. McInerney, then 14, was arrested shortly after the shooting.

The preliminary hearing, to determine if there was enough evidence to bind the teen over for trial, was to have begun Wednesday. 

The body of Bill McInerney, 45, was found in the living room of his home by a friend who was to drive him to the courthouse.

An autopsy found McInerney died of blunt force trauma to the head.  Police said there was no evidence of foul play.  It is believed that McInerney fell and struck his head on the concrete floor.

Brandon McInerney was informed of his father’s death shortly before he was to have entered the courtroom. Ventura County Superior Court Judge James Cloninger adjourned the hearing.

The elder McInerney has had his own brushes with the law. Court documents obtained by The Associated Press show that in 1993 he shot his wife with a .45-caliber pistol, shattering her elbow. The shooting occurred several months before Brandon was born.  He was sentenced in 2000 for domestic battery.

Brandon McInerney, who turned 15 last month, is charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime. 

His attorneys are fighting to have the case heard in juvenile court.  The issue is currently before the California Supreme Court. If convicted as an adult McInerney could be sentenced to 51 years to life. If he were convicted in juvenile court the sentence would be much shorter. 

Earlier this week, Judge Cloninger refused to delay the preliminary hearing until the high court rules.

Cloninger noted that since the hearing would not determine guilt or innocence, there was need to delay the proceedings.  He ordered both sides in the case to be on 24-hour call and fully prepared with the hearing to begin as soon as a courtroom is available.

King, 15, often dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. He was shot in the head during a morning class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time. McInerney was arrested shortly after the shooting.

Not in the mood to talk about this story because I can only imagine the comments some  will leave. The father of Brandon McInerney, the 15 year old boy on trial for the murder of his classmate Lawrence “Larry” King, was found dead in his home.

Bill McInerney was found yesterday morning by a friend who was to drive him to a preliminary hearing on his son’s trial. The autopsy has shown the elder McInerney sustained an accidental head wound. Michael Tellez, a Ventura County deputy medical examiner, said that based on the scene, and the father’s history, alcohol was an important factor. Toxicology tests need to be performed for more  definitive results.

This whole case is tragic beyond measure. If you wrote it as a novel no one would believe it. A young gay kid killed in his classroom. His alleged killer on trial as an adult. Now the suspect’s father is dead.

And for the record: anyone who leaves a comment about karma or to dance on the father’s grave is no better than the Westboro Baptist  Church crazies. Justifible anger about Larry King’s murder does not mean you need to gloat over this.

McInerney’s attorneys are fighting to have the case moved from adult to juvenile court. The issue is now before the California Supreme Court after being rejected by the trial judge and an appeals court.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge James Cloninger dismissed the motion, saying the case needed to more forward.

A preliminary hearing determines whether the prosecution has enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Cloninger noted that since the hearing would not determine guilt or innocence, there was need to delay the proceedings.  He ordered both sides in the case to be on 24-hour call and fully prepared for the hearing to begin as soon as a courtroom is available.

King, 15, often dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. He was shot in the head during a morning class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time. McInerney was arrested shortly after the shooting.

King died in the hospital after doctors declared him brain dead and his mother agreed to have life-support removed.

McInerney, who turned 15 last month, is charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime.

Last month in court papers, the prosecutor’s office said McInerney has a “racist skinhead philosophy” and that without saying anything he shot King in the back.  When King fell to the floor, McInerney got up and fired a  “second, coup de grace” shot into the back of King’s head.

The prosecution also said that white supremacist materials had been found by investigators in McInerney’s bedroom.

They included hand-drawn sketches of swastikas, references to the ‘14 Words’ and the number 88, which is commonly used by skinheads to represent the words Heil Hitler and Hitler’s SS.

If convicted he could be sentenced to 51 years to life. If he were convicted in juvenile court the sentence would be much shorter.

Last month, King’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit accusing the school, an LGBT rights group, and a shelter of failing to protect him.

The suit claims that E.O. Green Junior High School, and the Casa Pacifica shelter for troubled children where King had been living knew that his behavior was “sexually assertive” but that neither took action.

It also alleges that the shelter gave him “cross-dressing clothes and makeup and women’s boots.”  The lawsuit additionally claims that the Rainbow Alliance encouraged the teen to make the sexual advances which led to his death.

In all, nearly two dozen defendants are named in the suit.

The lawsuit was filed by King’s parents, Dawn and Gregory King, and his brother, Rocky. It claims that the school and the Casa Pacifica shelter for troubled children where King had been living knew that his behavior was “sexually assertive” but that neither took action.

It also alleges that shelter gave him “cross-dressing clothes and makeup and women’s boots.” The lawsuit additionally claims that the Rainbow Alliance encouraged the teen to make the sexual advances which led to his death.

According to the lawsuit, King “did not cross-dress” while living at home and that his family begged officials from the school, the shelter and county Child Protective Services agency to ask him to “tone it down.”

The Associated Press reports Rainbow Alliance executive director Jay Smith denies the allegations.

“No facilitator or mental health therapist would say anything even remotely like that,” Smith told the AP. “This whole thing is just frivolous.”

Spokespersons for Casa Pacifica and the school also denied wrongdoing.

King often dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. He was shot in the head during a morning class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time.

King died in the hospital after doctors declared him brain dead and his mother agreed to have life-support removed.

The lawsuit also names Brandon McInerney, the 15-year-old who shot King in a classroom full of students.

(Oxnard, California) Tears flowed openly as dozens of students and Oxnard’s gay community held a vigil Thursday night to remember Larry King, the 15-year-old gay student who was gunned down by a classmate one year ago.

Fifteen year old Brandon McInerney has been charged as an adult with murder as a hate crime. At the time King was killed McInerney was 14.

The vigil was organized by the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance.

In Congress on Thursday, Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) introduced a resolution to honor the life of King.

“Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),” the resolution said, “That Congress honors the life and remembers and condemns the murder of Lawrence King; encourages efforts to address anti-lesbian, -gay, -bisexual and -transgender name-calling, bullying, harassment and discrimination on school campuses; encourages trainings to enable school staff to identify and address anti-lesbian, -gay, -bisexual and -transgender name-calling, bullying, harassment and discrimination  effectively and in a timely manner; encourages the implementation of age-appropriate, inclusive curricula to help students understand and respect difference within the school community and society as a whole; encourages each State, city, and local education authority to adopt laws and policies to prohibit name-calling, bullying, harassment and discrimination against students, teachers and other school staff regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”

King, 15, often dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. He was shot in the head during a morning class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time. McInerney was arrested shortly after the shooting.

King died in the hospital after doctors declared him brain dead and his mother agreed to have life-support removed.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network urged school officials to ensure all students are safe.

“Our thoughts continue to go out to an Oxnard community that will never be the same after this senseless display of hate,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. “Lawrence King was murdered simply for being himself. It is imperative that as a nation we do everything we can to make sure that the tragedy of Feb. 12, 2008 never happens again and that every student is safe, respected and valued in school.”

A 2007 GLSEN study found that bullying and harassment of LGBT students is the norm rather than the exception in schools.

Nearly nine out of 10 LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 44 percent being physically harassed and 22 percent being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation. The study involved 6,209 middle and high school students.

Additionally, three-fifths of LGBT students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and about a third skipped a day of school in the past month because of feeling unsafe.

“While no one can deny that a serious problem exists in our schools, what is most troubling is that so few seem committed to doing anything about it,” Byard said. “The good news is that schools can take simple, proven steps right now to make their students safer. Every child deserves that much.”

Since his arrest, McInerney’s attorneys have been fighting to have the case heard in juvenile court. Earlier this week the prosecution disclosed new information to back up its contention McInerney should be tried as an adult.

The prosecutor’s office in a brief filed with the appeals court said McInerney has a “racist skinhead philosophy.” The brief said that McInerney sat behind the 15 year old King in class last February 12, and without saying anything shot King in the back.  When King fell to the floor McInerney got up and fired a “second, coup de grace” shot into the back of King’s head.