VAN NUYS : Defendant Says Boy Told to Fire in Air

Attempting to defend himself against a murder charge, a Van Nuys gang member testified Thursday that he handed the murder weapon to a 14-year-old boy after instructing him not to shoot anyone.

Jose M. Murillo, 19, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder in the April 12, 1992, shooting of Christopher Lee Brown, a 24-year-old Woodland Hills man who aspired to become a police officer.

Brown was gunned down chasing Murillo, the youth who shot him, and a teen-age girl. The trio had just stolen beer from a 7-Eleven store near the intersection of Burbank Boulevard and White Oak Avenue in Encino.

Before the slaying, as the trio drove in the south San Fernando Valley looking for a convenience store with unlocked refrigerators, the 14-year-old demanded a .22-caliber gun that Murillo was holding, according to Murillo’s testimony.

Murillo handed over the weapon “because I didn’t want to go on arguing with him the whole trip,” he said.

“If someone chases us, I’m just going to shoot in the air--no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Murillo testified.

Murillo testified that he clearly told the youth, who has been convicted in the case and is being held at the California Youth Authority: “Don’t point the gun at anyone, just shoot it in the air.”

As Brown gained ground on the teen-agers, the 14-year-old turned and fired, hitting Brown in the chest.