Murders Santa Barbara County

Still numbed by the loss of her 15-year-old son, Susan Markowitz said Wednesday she was stunned by reports that two dozen people may have seen Nicholas Markowitz while he was held captive before his execution-style killing Aug. 8. "I have no idea who they are or what they were thinking, or what their mentality was," Markowitz said. "Maybe they didn't know. "There are several people, I wonder if there are any ethical values in their heart," she added.

Still numbed by the loss of her 15-year-old son, Susan Markowitz said Wednesday she was stunned by reports that two dozen people may have seen Nicholas Markowitz while he was held captive before his execution-style murder Aug. 8. "I have no idea who they are or what they were thinking, or what their mentality was," said Markowitz, of West Hills. "Maybe they didn't know." She said, "I honestly believe everyone knows between right and wrong, and you have to listen to that little voice up there."

The lawyer for fugitive Jesse James Hollywood learned that his client was involved in the kidnapping of a 15-year-old West Hills boy, but never called police and the boy was later killed, Santa Barbara County prosecutors allege in court documents. Hollywood contacted Simi Valley attorney Stephen Hogg hours after the kidnapping of Nicholas Markowitz on Aug. 6, according to court papers made public this month.

Luxury cars were always rolling up to the three-bedroom, white stucco house Jesse James Hollywood bought for himself in West Hills at the age of 19. Hollywood drove a black Mercedes, neighbors said, or sometimes a racy blue sports car. He and his friends used to hang out in the frontyard, a bunch of young guys in tank tops and jeans, smoking cigarettes under the elm tree that shaded the lawn. Hollywood's dogs, two pit bulls, romped in the backyard.

SWAT teams Tuesday night fired tear gas into a West Hills home where police believed murder suspect 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 8200 block of McLaren Avenue about 4:15 p.m. and used a bullhorn to urge Hollywood, 20, to surrender. But when they entered the home after 7 p.m., police said, Hollywood was not there. Cmdr.

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.

Three young men and a 17-year-old pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of kidnapping and executing a West Hills teenager whose body was found in a shallow grave. The suspects, three of whom played together years ago in a San Fernando Valley youth baseball league, wore jail jumpsuits and nodded at their friends and family in Santa Barbara Superior Court. Ryan James Hoyt, 21, of West Hills; William R.

The godfather of Jesse James Hollywood surrendered to Colorado police after allegedly helping him evade arrest in connection with the murder of a 15-year-old West Hills teen, authorities said Thursday. Richard Dispenza, 47, of Woodland Park, Colo., turned himself in late Wednesday and was booked on suspicion of harboring a fugitive, a felony. He posted $5,000 bail, police said.