Students Testify That Brandon McInerney Was Not Racist; Also Testify That Leading Up to His Murder Lawrence King Had Begun To Fight Back Against Bullying

Testimony today in the Brandon McInerney trial continued, The Ventura County Star reporting that students who knew King or McInerney or were in the Oxnard classroom on Feb. 12, 2008, testified about the interactions between the two boys before the shooting in the middle school computer lab that day. McInerney is charged with murder and a hate crime. His trial began Tuesday in Chatsworth because of pre-trial publicity in Ventura County. Jesus C., who was on the stand Wednesday, continued today with a cross-examination from McInerney's lawyer, Scott Wippert. Like all the former E.O. Green students testifying, he only gave his first name and last initial. Jesus said that in the months leading up to the shooting, King, 15, became more assertive in giving grief to those who gave him a hard time. King had begun wearing makeup and women's clothing and calling himself gay. "If you were talking about him when he would pass, he'd say, 'What?' " Jesus said. He once saw King chase another boy into a bathroom, although he did not know why. McInerney, then 14 and now 17, mostly hung out with black kids during lunch, Jesus said. McInerney smiled in court as Jesus talked about the days of playing hoops during lunch. Jesus said McInerney never made racist comments. The prosecution is trying to establish McInerney as a white supremacist who disliked gays. Victor V. testified he heard a rumour that King told McInerney he loved him and wanted to be his Valentine, but it was not a big deal. "We all know how junior high is. We are still kids. I just saw it as a regular mishap that happened, just kids being kids," Victor said. Under cross-examination, however, Jesus said other boys were teasing McInerney about King and they knew it bothered him. The defense is trying to establish that King sexually harassed and taunted McInerney and that the defendant is guilty only of manslaughter, not premeditated murder. Andrea V., a self-described nerd, testified in long, articulate sentences as she recalled her friendship with McInerney and what she saw that day. She said that when they went into the computer room, the students were assigned their seats. The prosecution has argued that McInerney chose his seat behind King to carry out the shooting, while the defense has said he was forced to sit there. Under cross-examination, Andrea said McInerney hung out with people of different races and that he was a nice guy. She said she had no problem with King wearing makeup and boots."They were pretty high, because I remember my friends saying, 'Dang, he can walk in heels better than I can,' " she said. The last witness before lunch was Abiam M., who said he never saw King make any sexually inappropriate remarks. But he said he did not associate with King because the victim made him and other boys uncomfortable. Abiam said he has blocked most of the shooting day out of his mind and details are hazy. He was sitting diagonally from King when he was shot. Wippert asked the witness if he thought McInerney was a white supremacist, and Abiam laughed, saying "We were all friends, he was never racist toward us."