Testimony begins in Hollywood trial

By COLBY FRAZIER — May 19, 2009

A man who dealt drugs with Jesse James Hollywood said yesterday during the man’s capital murder trial that he didn’t report the kidnapping and murder of a 15-year-old boy because he feared Hollywood.

Brian Affronti, 29, took the witness stand and ran through the details of Aug. 6, 2000, when he accompanied Hollywood and two other men to Santa Barbara. Inside the white utility van, apparently being held hostage but not bound or gagged, was 15-year-old Nick Markowitz, who was shot to death three days later at an area of the foothills known as Lizard’s Mouth.

Affronti said Hollywood, who has been charged with kidnapping and murder charges in connection with Nick’s death, took the boy’s pager and other personal belongings on the drive.

Nick’s brother, Ben Markowitz, owed Hollywood $1,200 in drug money and the day before had thrown a brick through the front window of Hollywood’s home. The elder Markowitz also had reportedly left threatening messages on Hollywood’s voicemail.

Affronti said none of this made Hollywood happy, and he let Nick know.

“He was asking him if his brother was paging him,” said Affronti, who has testified in a number of trials involving other men connected to the case. “He was saying that Ben was going to pay back the money, that he was basically going to pay up.”

Once in Santa Barbara, the group went to a home on Modoc Road. After a short time there, Affronti, wanting to leave because things were “getting out of control,” told Hollywood he had a date.

Hollywood, on his way to another home to take a shower, told Affronti to wait for him to get back.

While Hollywood was gone Affronti said he went to the bedroom where Nick was being held. He said the boy’s wrists and ankles had been duct taped together.

He said Nick didn’t appear overly scared, and the two, along with William Skidmore, who plea-bargained to nine years in prison for his involvement in the killing, smoked marijuana together.

“He seemed pretty calm for someone in his position the whole time …” he said of Nick. “I thought everything would blow over.”

When Hollywood returned to the home, Affronti and Skidmore left. However, the two returned a short time later to pick up Affronti’s cell phone. When Affronti went back into the home, he said Nick had been untied and was smoking marijuana and playing video games with Hollywood.

A couple of days later Affronti said he received a call from Skidmore, who told him Nick had been killed and urged him to stay away from Hollywood. Skidmore told Affronti that Hollywood had labeled him a “weak link” that needed to be taken care of.

“He had told him to take care of me,” Affronti said.

On cross examination Hollywood’s defense attorney Alex Kessel peppered Affronti with questions about statements he gave to police nearly nine years ago.

In those reports, Kessel insisted Affronti made no mention of Hollywood talking with Nick about the money his brother owed.

Kessel also wanted to know why he didn’t set Nick free or call police after Hollywood had left to take a shower.

The lawyer, who is one of two representing Hollywood, never appeared to be happy with Affronti’s answers.

“As I stated before,” Affronti said, “it was fear.”

Affronti said he had never felt threatened by Hollywood, but indicated Hollywood could direct someone else to harm him if he felt it was needed.

Dressed in a black suit with his hair slicked back, Hollywood, 29, could often be seen whispering to his attorneys during Affronti’s testimony.

Santa Barbara County Chief Trial Deputy Joshua Lynn, the prosecutor, asked Affronti if Hollywood owned any guns.

Affronti said it wasn’t uncommon to see weapons at Hollywood’s San Fernando Valley home, which he owned. He said Hollywood had an AR-15 semi-automatic rife, a shotgun, a handgun and a Tec-9, the same gun Hollywood’s friend, Ryan Hoyt, used to shoot Nick.

Affronti said he’d seen the Tec-9 at Hollywood’s home as recently as a week before the group drove to Santa Barbara.

Also taking the stand yesterday was Pauline Mahoney, a woman who saw Nick being jumped near his home by a group of men driving a white van.

Mahoney memorized the license plate number and called police as soon as she got home. In the 911 call, which was played in court, Mahoney told dispatchers she saw a group of boys beating the “crap” out of another boy, then throwing him into the van.

Nick’s father, Jeff Markowitz, was the prosecution’s first witness. He told the jury about the growing tensions between he, his wife, and Nick, who they suspected of doing drugs.

The night before Nick went missing, Jeff Markowitz said he confronted his son about a “bulge” in his back pocket, and the boy fled, only to return a half hour later without whatever it was in his pocket.

“We all sat down and had a bowl of cereal and I said we’d talk about it in the morning,” he said.

But by 11 a.m. the next morning, Jeff Markowitz said his son was gone. He didn’t respond to pages and his brother, Ben, didn’t know where he was.

Over the next few days the Markowitz’s would sleep with their window open, hoping to hear Nick come home.

But dheriff’s deputies arrived first. Markowitz said they didn’t even knock on the door because he heard their footsteps.

“They told us what they’d found,” he said.

The trial resumes today at 8:45 a.m. in Judge Brian Hill’s Department 14 courtroom. If convicted, Hollywood could face the death penalty.

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thanks for the coverage : 5/19/2009

I would have thought there would be more interest/coverage of this trial. I appreciate your covering this in such detail and I hope you can and will continue.

Bruce

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: 5/19/2009

I think we're interested, we just don't have anything to say about it. I would like to continue reading about it, too.

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Hollywood's demeanor : 5/20/2009

Most of the photos I've seen of Hollywood show him to be smiling/smirking. Can you comment on his demeanor, ie. bodylanguage in your next article. I'd like to have some sense of this. Thanks for the coverage.

Briuce

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: 5/25/2009

Hopefully this guy and the movie "Alpha Dog" will be an example to other young dealers in the suburbs to not try and do the toughguy antics that they see in movies like scarface. "Alpha dog" is real life...."Scarface" is a fantasy. And to the santa barbra residents who protest this trial and protest him getting the death penalty....are you serious?.....this guy came to santa barbra all the way from the san fernando valley to kill a kid....hes killed a child....fry this mofo

Jonny Truelove

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