OXNARD, Calif., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Investigators in Oxnard, Calif., said they found white supremacist literature in the bedroom of a student accused of shooting a gay classmate to death.
The materials seized in the room of Brandon McInerney, 14, included drawings of Nazi swastikas and literature on what prosecutors called a "racist skinhead philosophy," the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
McInerney is charged with the February slaying of Lawrence King, 15, an honor student at E.O. Green Junior High School.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox wrote in a court that materials found in McInerney's room played a major role in the decision to add a hate crime charge to the murder charge against the defendant, who is being tried as an adult.
Deputy Public Defender William Quest, who is representing McInerney, said his client had the materials because he was working on a school project and also shared an interest with family members in Germany military matters. Quest called the prosecution claim a "stunt" and said prosecutors were trying to turn the public against the defendant.
"There is no evidence Brandon was ever in a gang, no evidence he had any gang tattoos," Quest said. "His best friends at school were black and Hispanic."
