Gun trial begins for Pa. lawmaker

GREENSBURG, Pa. - A state senator was reckless for not trying harder to find a missing gun later involved in the death of a 14-year-old neighbor, a prosecutor told jurors yesterday.

Sen. Robert Regola, 45, a freshman Republican running for reelection, went on trial yesterday on weapons and perjury charges. His attorney told jurors that Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck's prosecution was primarily an attempt to "restrict guns."

"The first thing I want to tell you is this case is not about the death of Louis Farrell," said defense attorney Charles Porter.

Regola is accused of letting his son Bobby Regola, now 18, keep the gun in his bedroom some months before Farrell's 2006 shooting and of failing to store the gun safely the day before Farrell's body was found in the woods behind the families' homes.

The lawmaker and his wife were out of town July 21, 2006; Bobby Regola spent the day at an amusement park. Farrell, who was found dead the next day, had a key to the Regola home so he could watch their pets.

When Bobby Regola returned home, he saw that his father's 9mm pistol was missing and called to tell the senator. Peck said the elder Regola had a "strange lack of concern" about the gun's whereabouts and should have called Louis Farrell, his parents, or police to find out where the gun was, since only Farrell was in the home that day.

Instead, the senator had his brother stop by to ensure the house was secure and dropped the matter. Farrell's father found the boy dead about 10 hours later.

Robert Regola is also accused of lying at a coroner's inquest about whether the gun was ever stored in his son's room.

The county coroner ruled the death a suicide. Members of Farrell's family believe the shooting was an accident. They also believe Bobby Regola knew more about the shooting than he claimed.

In yesterday's most dramatic testimony, Farrell's best friend, Michael Stunja, said he and Farrell went to Bobby Regola's bedroom about two years before Farrell was killed. Bobby Regola showed off a 9mm gun and bullets he kept in the room "for protection," said Stunja, now 16.

"I was 12 years old at the time, and my parents were completely against guns," Stunja said. "And here was this guy, two years older than me, with a gun in his hand."

Stunja previously testified at a preliminary hearing and the coroner's inquest. Porter questioned him about why he earlier described the gun in Bobby Regola's bedroom as "similar" to the one that killed Farrell, but yesterday told the jury it was "exactly alike."

Pressed on other details, Stunja cried and blurted out, "This was my best friend, OK?"

"The point is every time you say something about this incident, you say something a little bit different," Porter said.

The thrust of Peck's case is that Robert Regola was reckless in storing the gun and lied at the inquest when he denied the gun was ever in his son's room.

Regola's inquest testimony will be read to the jury today.

Bobby Regola is serving a year on juvenile probation for illegally possessing his father's gun as a minor - a detail the jury won't hear because of evidence rules.