THOUSAND OAKS : Closing Arguments End in Murder Trial

Widely disparate portraits emerged Wednesday in closing arguments of the murder trial of a 17-year-old Thousand Oaks boy charged with shooting his girlfriend.

The defense described the boy as a troubled youth who believed the gun was not loaded when he aimed it at 16-year-old Jacqueline Reay and shot her once in the eye in the kitchen of a Las Casitas condominium.

The prosecution argued that the boy was a bully and a showoff who did not care whether the 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun was loaded.

A verdict is expected at 11 a.m. today.

Charged with seven offenses, including murder, the defendant is being tried as a juvenile because prosecutors believe he did not intend to kill his girlfriend. If convicted, he could be imprisoned until age 25.

Defense attorney Victor Furio said his client suffers from attention deficit disorder and that the charges against him should be reduced to involuntary manslaughter.

“He doesn’t know from moment to moment that pointing a gun is wrong because he has no common sense,” Furio said. “He has no social judgment.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn discounted Furio’s argument.

“I would bet that everybody who appeared before you between 8:30 and 10:30 this morning had impaired social judgment,” Glynn told the judge. “Nowhere have I heard that that is a valid defense for committing a crime.”