Judge Rejects Move To Bar District Attorney In Gay Hate Case

VENTURA (AP) — A California judge has denied a defense motion to recuse the district attorney's office from prosecuting a Ventura County teenager charged with murdering a gay classmate.

Defense attorneys for 16-year-old Brandon McInerney based their motion on a conversation police secretly recorded a few months ago between a detective and defense attorneys.

McInerney's lawyers say police can't secretly record conversations during investigations.

The judge said the district attorney didn't do anything wrong and he would rule on the detective's involvement later.

McInerney is being tried as an adult in the 2008 slaying of 15-year-old Larry King at E.O. Green School in Oxnard. King dressed in a feminine manner and told friends he was gay.

Jury selection was postponed to March.

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