INDIO - A second day of testimony is expected to today in a hearing for two men -- a self-avowed white supremacist and a reputed drug dealer -- accused of using California's Megan's Law registry to hunt down and kill a convicted sex offender.

Steven Banister, 28, of Desert Hot Springs, and Travis Martin Cody, 27, face first-degree murder charges in the Aug. 10 death of Edward Vaughn Keeley, whose body was found in his back yard in the 64000 block of 16th Avenue in North Palm Springs.

The suspects also face two special circumstance allegations of committing a murder during a robbery and a burglary, which makes them eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek capital punishment for Banister.

Both men were due in court today for their preliminary hearing, which Advertisement

[ Berry-Bell and Hall Mortuary ] began Friday. The hearing will determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Banister had been free from prison less than one month before Keeley's death, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant.

Keeley's address was listed as the home of a convicted sex offender on a publicly-available database created by Megan's Law.

Banister had reportedly bragged in prison that he planned to assault homosexuals, rapists and pedophiles. He alleged used Megan's Law to target

pedophiles and sex offenders for his burglaries, said sheriff's Investigator Josh Button, who prepared the declaration.

Banister told his girlfriend that he had gotten into a fight with an old man, but did not know if the victim was alive or dead, according to Button.

After Keeley's death, Banister went to Tennessee, where he was arrested in December.