Jesse James Hollywood

After five years on the run and a movie based on his high-profile case, Jesse James Hollywood was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2000 slaying of a West Hills teenager. Hollywood, 29, could be sentenced to death. He also was convicted of kidnapping, a conviction that carries a maximum prison term of eight years. His father, Jack Hollywood, was stunned after the verdict, which took the jury four days to reach.

After three hours' deliberations, a jury on Wednesday gave a life sentence rather than the death penalty to Jesse James Hollywood, the former marijuana dealer convicted last week in the slaying of a 15-year-old West Hills boy. Found guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder, Hollywood, 29, was portrayed by prosecutors as the ringleader of a convoluted plot to avenge a $1,200 drug debt owed by Nicholas Markowitz's older half brother.

Nine years after the slaying of a 15-year-old West Hills boy, Jesse James Hollywood faced a jury on Friday that will determine whether he's guilty in the crime that inspired the 2007 film "Alpha Dog." Prosecutors allege that Hollywood masterminded the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz to avenge a $1,200 drug debt owed by his half brother. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. In his opening statement, Santa Barbara County Deputy Dist. Atty.

After five years on the run and a movie based on his high-profile case, Jesse James Hollywood was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2000 slaying of a West Hills teenager. Hollywood, 29, could be sentenced to death. He also was convicted of kidnapping, a conviction that carries a maximum prison term of eight years. His father, Jack Hollywood, was stunned after the verdict, which took the jury four days to reach.

After three hours' deliberations, a jury on Wednesday gave a life sentence rather than the death penalty to Jesse James Hollywood, the former marijuana dealer convicted last week in the slaying of a 15-year-old West Hills boy. Found guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder, Hollywood, 29, was portrayed by prosecutors as the ringleader of a convoluted plot to avenge a $1,200 drug debt owed by Nicholas Markowitz's older half brother.

Siding with murder defendant Jesse James Hollywood, the state Supreme Court has ordered a hearing to determine whether a prosecutor improperly cooperated with the producers of "Alpha Dog," an upcoming movie based on the case. A ruling in Hollywood's favor could mean that the state attorney general would prosecute the first-degree murder case instead of the Santa Barbara County district attorney's office. "Alpha Dog" likely will be released this fall, said a spokeswoman for New Line Cinema.

It was your FBI, coming to you live Thursday from the top of the Federal Building in Westwood. Got a question about the yearlong manhunt for murder suspect Jesse James Hollywood? Just hop online and fire away. As a throng of dark-suited FBI agents clustered around a computer on the 17th floor--part of the Los Angeles office's first "Web chat"--Question No. 25 put it bluntly: "Why is the FBI having such a difficult time finding a 21-year-old kid?"

Seeing images of their slain son's duct tape-bound body projected on a courtroom screen, the parents of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz sobbed Tuesday as a prosecutor urged a jury to find Jesse James Hollywood guilty in his death. "Justice has waited nine years," Joshua Lynn told the jurors. "The time has come." The dramatic moment came on the first day of closing arguments in the case, which was the basis for the 2007 film "Alpha Dog."

SWAT teams fired tear gas Tuesday night into a West Hills home where police believed fugitive Jesse James Hollywood had taken refuge, but after a three-hour siege investigators came up empty handed. Los Angeles police surrounded the house in the 8000 block of McLaren Avenue about 4:15 p.m., and used a bullhorn to urge Hollywood, 20, to surrender. But after entering the home after 7 p.m., police said Hollywood was not there.

People in this placid surfing town knew him as Miguel, the young gringo who lived with his Brazilian girlfriend and jogged on the beach with his two pit bulls. He seemed to drink a lot, kept to himself and spoke hardly a word in his American-accented Portuguese. When he did, neighbors said, it was often in a domestic quarrel or, once, in a drunken spat with customers in the bar across the street from the small beach house he shared with his girlfriend. "He always had his head down....

Nine years after the kidnapping and murder of a 15-year-old West Hills boy, a jury on Wednesday was given the case against Jesse James Hollywood, the alleged mastermind behind the slaying. The crime was the model for the 2007 movie "Alpha Dog." Defense attorneys have argued that the crime's notoriety tainted the testimony of witnesses and prejudiced the public against their client. Hollywood could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Seeing images of their slain son's duct tape-bound body projected on a courtroom screen, the parents of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz sobbed Tuesday as a prosecutor urged a jury to find Jesse James Hollywood guilty in his death. "Justice has waited nine years," Joshua Lynn told the jurors. "The time has come." The dramatic moment came on the first day of closing arguments in the case, which was the basis for the 2007 film "Alpha Dog."

Convinced that he would be "shot on sight" by police in the United States, Jesse James Hollywood testified Wednesday, he was inspired by the film "Blame It on Rio" to head for a new life as Michael Costa Giroux in Brazil. Hollywood, 29, was a fugitive for nearly five years after the 2000 kidnapping and murder of a 15-year-old West Hills boy. Four of Hollywood's associates have been convicted in the crime. After fleeing to Canada, Hollywood said, he wound up freezing in Quebec.

In a dramatic second day on the witness stand, Jesse James Hollywood denied ordering the execution of a 15-year-old West Hills boy to avenge a $1,200 drug debt owed by the boy's older half-brother. At least a dozen times, the 29-year-old former marijuana dealer told a Santa Barbara County Superior Court jury how much he regretted the events that led to the 2000 death of Nicholas Markowitz, who was shot nine times and buried in the Santa Barbara foothills.

Looking like a young banker in a dark suit and striped tie, accused killer Jesse James Hollywood testified in his own defense Monday, giving a concise overview of his lucrative marijuana business in the San Fernando Valley.

Jesse James Hollywood was pacing and chain-smoking. He had just told a family friend, attorney Stephen Hogg, that his pals had kidnapped the brother of a tough guy who had smashed windows at his home, threatened him and poisoned his dog. Hogg, a soft-spoken 65-year-old with a ponytail, described his meeting with Hollywood during testimony Tuesday at Hollywood's trial for the 2000 kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz.

Nine years after the kidnapping and murder of a 15-year-old West Hills boy, a jury on Wednesday was given the case against Jesse James Hollywood, the alleged mastermind behind the slaying. The crime was the model for the 2007 movie "Alpha Dog." Defense attorneys have argued that the crime's notoriety tainted the testimony of witnesses and prejudiced the public against their client. Hollywood could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Taking a page out of the O.J. Simpson legal playbook, a Santa Barbara County judge has ordered fugitive Jesse James Hollywood and two co-defendants to pay $11.2 million to the parents of a 15-year-old boy who was killed to settle a drug debt. In an unexpected move, Superior Court Judge James W. Brown fixed punitive damages at $10 million, even though Hollywood has not been convicted in the August 2000 abduction and murder of Nicholas Markowitz.

Nine years after the slaying of a 15-year-old West Hills boy, Jesse James Hollywood faced a jury on Friday that will determine whether he's guilty in the crime that inspired the 2007 film "Alpha Dog." Prosecutors allege that Hollywood masterminded the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz to avenge a $1,200 drug debt owed by his half brother. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. In his opening statement, Santa Barbara County Deputy Dist. Atty.

The Supreme Court is allowing a prosecutor who helped in the making of the movie "Alpha Dog" to remain on the death penalty case on which the film is based. The justices, in an order Monday, denied an appeal from Jesse James Hollywood, who prosecutors say masterminded a plot to kidnap and murder 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz. He was killed in 2000 because his older half-brother owed Hollywood money, prosecutors say. A California appeals court had removed Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen from the case after he turned over sensitive materials to director Nick Cassavetes.