Long-awaited Hollywood murder trial gets under way

By COLBY FRAZIER — May 16, 2009

Forget the labels, forget the name; Jesse James Hollywood was known as Jesse. He was a 20-year-old who dealt small quantities of high quality marijuana, not a hardcore drug-dealing thug. He lived modestly, took frequent showers and wore clean clothes. He had nothing to do with the slaying of a 15-year-old boy in 2000, whose murder he has been charged with, his attorney said yesterday during the first day of the man’s capital murder trial in Superior Court.

“No bling, no blang, no jewelry, no incredible cars, no vacations, no extravagant gifts to [his] girlfriend,” Hollywood’s attorney, James Blatt, told the jury about his client. “Forget about the labels … [He was] not a mastermind, but a 20-year-old man.”

Hollywood, now 29, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murder charges. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.

While Blatt portrayed Hollywood as a man who dabbled in drug dealing, calling him “no angel,” prosecutors say he was the mastermind behind the kidnapping and execution of Nicholas Markowitz.

In his opening statement, Chief Trial Deputy Joshua Lynn, the prosecutor, said Nicholas was killed over a $1,200 drug debt owed to Hollywood by the boy’s older half brother.

Lynn called Hollywood a “killer” and a “coward,” who was absent during the killing and fled to Brazil.

In the nine years since the slaying, the Hollywood-Markowitz story has been told on newspaper print thousands of times. The story surrounding the killing was the motivation for the film “Alpha Dog,” which starred Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone and Justin Timberlake.

Blatt said the characterization of Hollywood as a “mastermind” is simply incorrect.

And Blatt refuted the prosecution’s statements that Nicholas died because of a $1,200 drug debt. In actuality, he said, this is a tale of two families, whose lives converged under the most tragic of circumstances.

Blatt said the Hollywood-Markowitz connection was through Ben Markowitz, who did owe Hollywood money.

But Blatt said a longstanding feud between Ben Markowitz and Hollywood culminated on Aug. 5, 2000, when Hollywood’s car windows were busted out. Prior to this incident, Blatt said Ben Markowitz had left numerous phone messages, threatening to kill Hollywood and his family. The attorney also said Ben Markowitz poisoned Hollywood’s beloved dog.

Blatt speculated that Ben Markowitz was jealous of Hollywood, who owned a home, had friends and girlfriend, and was successful.

Nevertheless, Nicholas was abducted near his home in the San Fernando Valley the day after Hollywood’s windows were broken.

“He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, tragically after his brother had broken out the windows,” Blatt said.

Hollywood, and several of his friends, with Nicholas in tow, drove to Santa Barbara for the annual Fiesta celebration.

On August 7, the day after the group arrived in Santa Barbara, Blatt said Nicholas was essentially released. He said the boy wasn’t being watched and could have easily made a phone call.

On August 9, the day Nicholas was taken to an area in the Santa Barbara foothills known as Lizard’s Mouth and killed, Blatt said Hollywood was eating with his girlfriend at a Los Angeles steakhouse.

Although there’s little doubt Hollywood participated in the kidnapping, Blatt said the evidence will show that his involvement from that point on was minimal.

The people responsible for Nicholas’ death, he contends, were those who have already been tried for various crimes relating to the murder.

Most notably, Blatt focused on Ryan Hoyt, the shooter, who was sentenced in 2003 to the death penalty. Blatt called Hoyt a “liar,” who was on the hunt for acceptance from his friends.

He said Hoyt used a Tec-9 semi-automatic handgun to kill Nicholas. Though the gun once belonged to Hollywood, Blatt said Hoyt had owned the weapon for several months prior to the killing.

The day after Nicholas was killed, a birthday party was held for Hoyt in Los Angeles.

Prior to arriving at the party Blatt said Hollywood sold his aging Mercedes Benz for $4,000, put a $9,800 down payment on a new Lexus and bought a year of insurance.

When Hollywood arrived at the party, Blatt said witnesses heard his client and Hoyt arguing.

Blatt said witnesses heard Hollywood say: “How could you do that, you’re F-ing crazy. Are you out of your mind.”

Blatt said from that point on Hollywood was no longer the calm 20-year-old his friends knew.

“There was a difference in Mr. Hollywood,” he said. “He was frightened, he was scared, he was a totally different person after that conversation with him.”

By August 16, Hoyt, Jesse Rugge, who was sentenced in 2002 to life with the possibility of parole, William Skidmore, who plea bargained to nine years with parole and Graham Pressley, who dug the victim’s grave and is out of jail, all had been arrested.

Hollywood, however, was in Colorado. Blatt said witnesses will testify that Hollywood was “deeply remorseful.”

At some point Hollywood fled to Brazil, where he was arrested in 2005.

Blatt urged the jury to base their interpretations of the case on witness statements, and if they do, they’ll reach the right conclusion.

“Every single thing the DA said to you in his opening statement will be challenged and ultimately destroyed by his own witnesses,” he said.

Lynn likened Hollywood to an offensive coordinator on a football team who calls the shots. He said Hollywood might as well have pulled the trigger himself.

Blatt, using his own football analogy, took a line from Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas, who often said, “Talk is cheap.”

Superior Court Judge Brian Hill issued a gag order, preventing attorneys from speaking about the case. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks. The prosecution will start its case on Monday at 9:30 a.m.

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