Oxnard California Residents Testify At Brandon McInerney Trial That Accused Killer Of Lawrence King Not Part Of Neo-Nazi Gang

Kooks, localism and the Nardcore punk scene were the topics discussed Wednesday in the Brandon McInerney murder trial, The Ventura County Star reporting that witnesses included a man with tattoos inked over most of his face and a singer who screams the lyrics in his punk band but spoke so softy that he had to speak up so the jury could hear him. The defense was trying to show that Silver Strand Locals is merely a designation that residents of the Oxnard, California beach community use to identify themselves, and Nardcore is nothing more than a respected music scene. The prosecution has argued that SSL, as most call it, is a criminal street gang and some of its members are white supremacists who influenced McInerney. McInerney, 17, is charged with murder and a hate crime for the 2008 shooting death of Larry King, 15, in an Oxnard classroom. Day 15 in the trial started with Tyler Treves defining localism on Southern California beaches. "Localism is your spot, where you are comfortable with people who live together," said the 24-year-old who grew up on Silver Strand. "When you have something good, you want to hold onto it — like ice cream." He went over surfing etiquette and what a kook is — calling it someone who does not know what they are doing in the water. When McInerney's lawyer Scott Wippert showed Treves a photo of a group from Silver Strand making what the prosecution called gang signs, Treves said they were just goofing off. One person appears to be making a Sieg Heil gesture. "It's a gathering of our friends, it's a joke," he said. "I'm surprised that nobody is giving the bird." Then he saw someone was. "Oh, there it is!" he said, causing the jurors to laugh. He said he never knew McInerney to be a violent or bigoted person. Under cross-examination by Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox, Treves said he never saw any signs that McInerney was beaten or molested when he was a child. She showed him a number of images of graffiti around Silver Strand, one of which told kooks to stay away. She asked him if that comprised localism. "Like I said, it's like people who have good ice cream and they are trying to protect it," he said. Fox then showed him different images that were found in McInerney's belongings that mesh Nazi symbolism with the Nardcore sign. He said he had never seen it. Kyle Roman Benavidez took the stand next. In addition to the tattoos of straight razors that framed his face like long sideburns, the tattoos artist had a Nardcore sign on his cheek and a large, green one covering his throat. Around other tattoos on his wrist was a rubber "Save Brandon" bracelet. Wippert asked him what SSL means to him. "It is community," said Benavidez, 27. "It's a tight-knit community where we look out for each other and help each other out in any way we can." Under cross-examination, Fox reminded him that he had said gangs were involved in criminal activities. She then ran down a list of people who identify themselves as SSL who have been found guilty of a host of charges from selling methamphetamine to assault with a surfboard in the ocean. She also quoted him as saying that you cannot buy an SSL symbol in a store. "It is personal to those who identify themselves with SSL?" she asked. "Yes," he said. She then listed four fights McInerney has been involved in since he was 8-years-old and asked him if he thought McInerney was a violent person. Benavidez said he was not. "Do you consider shooting to be a violent act?" she asked. He said yes. She also asked him if he was offended by graffiti found in Silver Strand that had SSL and a swastika in the middle of it. "It's just some knucklehead drawing it," he said. As she did with Treves, Fox asked Benavidez about his relationship with a known vocal white supremacist who McInerney spent time with in the days leading up to the shooting. Both said Matt Reaume never expressed those views to them. The final witness of the day gave a lesson on the Nardcore punk scene. Though Joseph Rivas — who spoke softly and wore a purple shirt with a matching tie — didn't look like a punk rocker, he had a deep knowledge of the Nardcore music scene that started in the 1980s. The name is an amalgamation of the words hardcore and Oxnard. One of the earliest and most influential albums was called, "Oxnard The Land of No Bathrooms," a sarcastic nod to the smell of agriculture. The prosecution has at times focused on the Nardcore symbols — a diamond with an X drawn through it — that were found on McInerney's belongings and their connection to the Silver Strand Locals. Rivas said the seminal bands that defined the Nardcore scene were made up of an ethnically diverse group of people and there are no racial or white supremacist overtones to the music. "Everyone has always been welcome," said Rivas, who fronts his own Nardcore band. His testimony will continue on Thursday.