Calif. drug dealer guilty of murdering 15-year-old
source: http://townhall.com/news/us/2009/07/08/calif_drug_dealer_guilty_of_murdering_15-year-old
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Marijuana dealer Jesse James Hollywood was convicted Wednesday of kidnapping and murdering a 15-year-old boy over an escalating drug debt, a crime that inspired the 2007 movie "Alpha Dog."
After deliberating about four days, a Santa Barbara Superior Court jury also found Hollywood, 29, guilty of the special circumstance allegation of being involved in a crime in which an assault weapon or machine gun was used, making him eligible for the death penalty.
Hollywood stared straight ahead as the verdict was read.
"I can't believe they found him guilty of that murder," his father, Jack Hollywood, said outside the courtroom.
The victim's parents said they were relieved but declined to comment further because of a gag order issued in the case. Prosecutors and defense attorneys also declined to speak.
The penalty phase of the case was scheduled to begin Monday.
Hollywood was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and eventual killing of Nicholas Markowitz in August 2000 because the teen's half brother owed a drug debt.
Nicholas was taken to Santa Barbara and held for several days before being shot and buried in a shallow grave. Four others have been convicted in connection with the crime.
Hollywood took the stand in his own defense, a move legal experts say is rare and potentially risky. He testified that he and two friends grabbed Markowitz off a street in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles but did not order the teen's murder.
"I just feel terrible about everything that happened," Hollywood testified. "I feel terrible for the Markowitz family. I feel terrible that anyone would think I could do something like that."
He said the teen was taken in an escalating dispute between him and the boy's older half-brother, Ben Markowitz. Hollywood, an admitted marijuana dealer, said Ben Markowitz owed him a $2,500 drug debt _ more than twice the amount prosecutors have cited.
After deliberating about four days, a Santa Barbara Superior Court jury also found Hollywood, 29, guilty of the special circumstance allegation of being involved in a crime in which an assault weapon or machine gun was used, making him eligible for the death penalty.
Hollywood stared straight ahead as the verdict was read.
"I can't believe they found him guilty of that murder," his father, Jack Hollywood, said outside the courtroom.
The victim's parents said they were relieved but declined to comment further because of a gag order issued in the case. Prosecutors and defense attorneys also declined to speak.
The penalty phase of the case was scheduled to begin Monday.
Hollywood was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and eventual killing of Nicholas Markowitz in August 2000 because the teen's half brother owed a drug debt.
Nicholas was taken to Santa Barbara and held for several days before being shot and buried in a shallow grave. Four others have been convicted in connection with the crime.
Hollywood took the stand in his own defense, a move legal experts say is rare and potentially risky. He testified that he and two friends grabbed Markowitz off a street in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles but did not order the teen's murder.
"I just feel terrible about everything that happened," Hollywood testified. "I feel terrible for the Markowitz family. I feel terrible that anyone would think I could do something like that."
He said the teen was taken in an escalating dispute between him and the boy's older half-brother, Ben Markowitz. Hollywood, an admitted marijuana dealer, said Ben Markowitz owed him a $2,500 drug debt _ more than twice the amount prosecutors have cited.
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