As 14-year-old Brandon McInerney prepares to be arraigned today inthe slaying of 15-year-old Lawrence "Larry" King at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, his lawyer is advancing a defense that at least partly blames school officials for the tragedy.
Educators should have moved aggressively to quell rising tensions between the two boys, which began when King openly flirted with McInerney, said William Quest, the Ventura County assistant public defender representing the eighth-grader.
Instead, administrators were so intent on nurturing King as he explored his sexuality, allowing him to come to school wearing feminine makeup and accessories, that they downplayed the turmoil that his behavior was causing on campus, Quest said in an interview this week.
Verbal confrontations between King and several adolescent boys over King's self-proclaimed homosexuality had been rising to the point that teachers were "repulsed" by school leaders' failure to take action, Quest said.
McInerney, he said, felt humiliated and harassed by King's attentions, and a troubled home life left him emotionally unequipped to handle the situation.
On Feb. 12, McInerney shot King in the back of the head with a handgun as first-period classes were beginning, according to police investigators and students who saw the shooting. McInerney's inability to see another way to solve his problem is partly the fault of the school system, his attorney said.
"Brandon is not some crazed lunatic," Quest said. "This was a confluence of tragic events that could have been stopped. If there is partial blame in other places, let's not throw away Brandon for the rest of his life."
School officials dispute Quest's assertions.
McInerney has been held in Juvenile Hall on $700,000 bail since the shooting. Ventura County prosecutors have announced their intent to try him as an adult. The teenager is scheduled to enter a plea at today's proceedings, but Quest said the arraignment may be postponed until the court decides on his motion to try him as a juvenile.
Under state law, juvenile offenders can be incarcerated until the age of 25 and then must be released. If he is convicted as an adult, McInerney would face 50 years to life, with an additional three years for a special hate-crime allegation.
"We think there will be evidence that the school, with the actions of Larry, didn't quite know how to deal with it," Quest said. "There were complaints that Larry's behavior was causing problems, especially with the boys."
