Brandon McInerney Pleads 'Not Guilty' in Murder of Lawrence King

15-year-old Brandon McInerney pleaded "not guilty" Thursday to first degree murder and other charges in the shooting of his classmate Lawrence King in February 2008, the Ventura County Star reports:

"McInerney, 15, who is being prosecuted as an adult, was accompanied by his attorneys in Ventura County Superior Court as he formally received the criminal charges against him. His arraignment had been postponed repeatedly since the February 2008 shooting. Ventura County Superior Court Superior Court Judge Bruce Young set a pretrial hearing for Oct. 23 and a trial date for Dec. 1. After the arraignment, Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox said she doesn’t know whether McInerney will be tried in December. 'Your guess is as good as mine,' she said. McInerney’s lawyers, Scott Wippert and Robyn Bramson, filed a legal motion Thursday to dismiss the special circumstance of lying in wait that was tacked onto the felony criminal charges by prosecutors after a three-day preliminary hearing."

According to the paper, a "lying in wait" circumstance automatically transfers the case from juvenile to adult court. Since McInerney is being tried as an adult already, Fox argued that the point is moot. Prosecutors have offered a 25 to life deal if McInerney pleads guilty to first-degree murder and a hate crime. McInerney faces 53 to life if he refuses.

Brandon McInerney Will be Tried as Adult in Lawrence King Murder

A judge in Ventura County, California decided after three days of hearings that 15-year-old Brandon McInerney should stand trial, as an adult, for the murder of his classmate Lawrence King in February 2008:

"Summing up evidence from investigators, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ken Riley took note of McInerney's telling other students about his intent to kill Larry King, a 15-year-old who wore makeup, earrings and high heels to school...McInerney allegedly shot King twice in the head Feb. 12, 2008, as their class sat in a computer lab at E.O. Green Junior High School. Barely 14 at the time of the crime, McInerney has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder. On Wednesday, the judge said the charge was appropriate, along with an allegation that it was a hate crime...During the hearing, an investigator testified about an Oxnard man who allegedly was McInerney's neo-Nazi 'mentor.' Simi Valley Police Det. Dan Swanson, an expert on white supremacists, also pointed to McInerney's apparent interest in Nazi symbols, including swastika-riddled drawings found in his possession. On Wednesday, the judge also agreed to a newly added special circumstance that McInerney was lying in wait for King. The shooting took place 15 or 20 minutes into class. King was shot from behind."

McInerney faces 53 years to life if convicted, according to the prosecutor.

There is a plea deal offer on the table: "The Ventura County district attorney's office has offered him a 25-year sentence in exchange for a guilty plea, but he has not accepted the deal." McInerney's attorneys are apparently planning to appeal and have the case tried in juvenile court.

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William McInerney, the father of Brandon McInerney,  the teen accused in Lawrence King's murder last February, was found dead at his home this morning:

"Bill McInerney, 45, was found shortly before 8 a.m. in the living room of his Silver Strand home by a friend, said James Baroni, Ventura County’s chief deputy medical examiner. The friend was supposed to drive him to a court hearing in his son’s murder trial, Baroni said...Brandon McInerney is being tried as an adult and was scheduled to begin a preliminary hearing today to determine if there is enough evidence to move to a trial, officials said. That hearing was postponed. Baroni said there was no sign of foul play or suicide at the father’s home. An autopsy is underway, and a cause of death should be available later today, the deputy medical examiner said. 'Nothing at the scene was a red flag,' he said."

The elder McInerney was facing felony charges of his own for criminal threats and possession of a weapon with regard to a prior domestic violence conviction.

UPDATE: "Michael Tellez, a Ventura County deputy medical examiner, said an autopsy revealed that McInerney sustained an accidental head injury from a fall. Based on the scene and the man's history, Tellez said, alcohol was a significant factor. Toxicology tests will determine blood alcohol content and whether other substances were in his blood, Tellez said."