Christian Oberender, Convicted Killer, Gets Gun Permit And Buys Arsenal Of Weapons

Christian Oberender was arrested on Jan. 2 in Watertown, Minn. (KARE 11)

A convicted murderer who spent time in a hospital for mental illness after he killed his mother legally obtained a permit and purchased an arsenal of guns because of a loophole in the Minnesota legislation.

Christian Oberender, now 32, killed his mother in the family's home with five shots from a shotgun in 1995, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He was 14-years-old at the time and was eventually committed to a hospital for being mentally ill and dangerous. Despite this, Oberender was able to obtain a gun permit last May and has since amassed an arsenal of 13 guns, including semi-automatic rifles, an AK-47, a Tommy gun, assorted shotguns and a .50-caliber Desert Eagle.

A 2003 Associated Press report reveals that Oberender had lived in treatment centers until he was 21 and then moved to a halfway house. Doctors treating Oberender revealed that he had serious mental illnesses, including potentially schizophrenia.

"I saw all kinds of psychologists and got all kinds of treatment," he told the AP. They showed him "how I can manage my behavior and not get angry over stupid stuff."

He was arrested on Jan. 2 for being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, according to the Herald-Journal. As investigators looked into Oberender's case, they realized the convicted criminal was allowed to get a gun permit without raising any red flags because the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) didn't have a fingerprint card from his 1995 murder and there was no case disposition. Carver County Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud told the Herald-Journal that "any purchasing of guns by him was never legal but it was possible because the disqualifiers weren't in place."

The BCA claims it never received the proper records after Oberender killed his mother.

"The BCA relies on entities in the criminal justice system to provide data on an individual which then populates the individual's criminal history," the department said in a statement to KARE 11. "There were no data submitted to the BCA about this individual - without it there can be no record."

Oberender isn't the first person disqualified from owning a gun who obtained one anyway. The federal database used for gun background checks may be missing millions of records on people with mental illnesses who are forbidden from owning guns, according to a recent New York Times report.

On Wednesday, President Obama revealed his plan to curb gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The legislation would require mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, a ban on assault weapons and improved access to mental health care.

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Al Pacino & Phil Spector: Actor's Relationship With The Convicted Killer He Portrays

Al Pacino is portraying Phil Spector in the HBO film.

PASADENA, Calif. -- Al Pacino said Friday that he decided not to meet famed record producer and convicted killer Phil Spector before portraying him in an HBO movie – only to find he already had.

A friend showed Pacino a 20-year-old photo in which the actor was standing next to Spector. Pacino said he has no memory of the moment.

The movie, "Phil Spector," debuts in March. It focuses on the client-attorney relationship between Spector and Linda Kenney Baden, who represented him in his first trial after he was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. That ended in a mistrial, but Spector was convicted in a second trial and is now serving 19 years to life in prison.

Pacino wore a dizzying array of wigs in his portrayal of the eccentric Spector, whose "Wall of Sound" style was an integral part of pop music in the early 1960s. The actor said he decided not to meet Spector in prison because he'd be a different man than the one Pacino is portraying, who had not yet been convicted of a crime.

He watched video clips of Spector to help him with his portrayal.

"I didn't know anything about him, except that he was responsible for a lot of great music and this strange case," Pacino said.

Actress Helen Mirren, who portrayed Baden, said she heard stories about Spector from her filmmaker husband, Taylor Hackford, who had hired Spector to provide music for his 1980 film, "The Idolmaker."

The Academy Award-winning Mirren was a last-minute substitute in her role. Bette Midler had begun filming as Baden, but had to withdraw because of a bad back. The film's executive producers are Barry Levinson and David Mamet.

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