Lawyer Says Quarrel Led to Killing

Paul Myers fatally shot his brother-in-law after the two had a brief verbal tiff over the return of a Nintendo game, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Moorpark resident is accused of killing 26-year-old car detailer Jason Weaver, father of a 2-week-old child and stepfather of a 7-year-old boy.

Bonnie Myers, who is expected to be called to the stand today, watched her son allegedly shoot her son-in-law in the driveway of her Clemson Street home in Moorpark on Aug. 11, 1999.

During the opening statements, Myers sat attentively, occasionally rocking silently in his chair. He wore a black suit with a blue tie and his hair was significantly neater than in the past.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Calvert told the jury he would seek a murder conviction, but declined to specify whether it would be first- or second-degree.

Calvert began by describing a scene in which Weaver and hisstepson, Jimmy, stopped by the home of the boy’s grandparents after work one day last summer to retrieve a Nintendo game.

After a short time, a conversation about who would keep the game turned into an argument between Paul Myers and Weaver, Calvert said. Myers reentered the house, while Weaver stepped outside for a smoke and to make a brief cell phone call to his father. Myers then reemerged on the driveway with a gun kept in the home by his father, a Los Angeles Police Department sergeant, Calvert said.

“Jason Weaver did not have a gun, did not have a knife and did not have a club,” Calvert said. “Without warning, the defendant began to shoot.”

Defense attorney James Blatt did not give opening arguments Wednesday, saying he would save them until Friday. Outside court, he declined to reveal his legal strategy, saying “this is about more than a Nintendo game--the defense will present psychiatric evidence.”

Myers previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but that plea was withdrawn, Blatt said. He indicated that Weaver may have had a history of aggressive behavior.

The prosecuting attorney called several witnesses Wednesday, including a California Highway Patrol officer and a neighbor of the Myers family to testify about the aftermath of the 4 p.m. shooting. Both sides also spent considerable time cross-examining Ventura County Medical Examiner Dr. Ronald L. O’Halloran about the six bullets fired into Weaver’s body.

Calvert tried to show by the angle and location of the bullets that the victim was running down the driveway away from the shooter when the bullets were fired.

By contrast, Blatt attempted to demonstrate that the bullets were fired in quick succession and suggested that Myers felt threatened by his 6-foot-4-inch brother-in-law, who weighed 275 pounds.

In the preliminary hearing, Bonnie Myers testified that after her son-in-law fell to the ground, her son turned to her and said, “Didn’t you see? He was going to kill me.”

Five members of the family were in court Wednesday, sometimes dabbing their eyes. Other members of the family will be called to the witness stand today. Proceedings continue at 8:30 a.m. at Ventura County Superior Court.