Jesse James Hollywood

Jesse James Hollywood
Photograph taken in 2005.
Born	Jesse James Hollywood (1980-01-28) January 28, 1980 West Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Other names	Michael Costa Giroux and Sean Michaels
Known for	On trial for kidnapping and ordering the murder of Nicholas Markowitz.
Partner	Marcia Reis
Children	John Paul Hollywood-Reis

Jesse James Hollywood (born January 28, 1980), also known as Michael Costa Giroux and Sean Michaels, is a former drug dealer and fugitive, currently on trial for kidnapping and ordering the murder of Nicholas Markowitz. In the film Alpha Dog, which is based on the story, Hollywood was portrayed as the character Johnny Truelove by actor Emile Hirsch.

Childhood and adolescence

He was born to John (Jack) Hollywood and Laurie and raised in West Hills in Los Angeles. His father was arrested in 2005, the same day as his son, Jesse James, in Brazil for manufacturing the illicit narcotic GHB, but the charge was later thrown out in court. Jack remained in custody on an outstanding 2002 warrant for a marijuana-related charge, and later received 18 months in a Arizona prison. Jesse James is the godson of Richard Dispenza who taught physical education at a local high school and coached football and girl's soccer in Woodland Park, Colorado. Despite popular belief of being named after Jesse James, he was named after an uncle. As a child he was involved in junior baseball league. His father moved the family to Colorado in attempt to run a restaurant in the mid-1990s, but returned to West Hills in 1995. He had blue eyes and stood at 5'4" and weighed 140 pounds but was known for his arrogant manner and swagger with a constant scowl.

He attended El Camino Real High School where he became involved in baseball. During his adolescent years he started ingesting muscle supplements and power lifting to help build up his muscle mass. His coach would later describe him as an "emotional kid" who was later expelled for erupting into a violent fit of rage at one of his teachers near the end of his sophomore year. He transferred to Calabasas High School where he played on the varsity baseball team until he injured his back and leg forcing him to give up the sport. Investigators believe that he started selling heroin a year before he committed the murder of Nicholas Markowitz. He recruited his former high school friends William Skidmore, Brian Affronti, Benjamin Markowitz and Jesse Rugge to dispense narcotics for him and build up a profitable illicit drug operation. Ironically, he had been a close friend of Benjamin Markowitz, playing on the same junior baseball league and would visit the same Malibu, California gymnasium to exercise together.

Narcotics operation and murder

Main article: Murder of Nicholas Markowitz

Benjamin had been one of the schoolmates that dispensed drugs for Hollywood. Jesse James started a successful auto insurance-scam where he would report one of the many cars that were registered to him stolen and collect the money. This scam was later found out by Benjamin which irritated Hollywood. At nineteen years old, Jesse's drug operation proved so successful that he was able to afford a three-story white stucco home for $200,000, situated a few blocks away from the Markowitz household. Apart from hosting barbecues he rarely talked to his neighbors, always had his head down and remained silent. His every day wardrobe consisted of blue jeans and tank tops. He kept two pit bulls tied to an elm tree in the backyard. Despite his thriving drug operation he had no drug convictions, except for being charged as a minor for possession alcohol and resisting arrest. He supplied drugs to Ryan Hoyt, the man who would later be convicted for the murder of Nicholas Markowitz and co-conspirators Jesse Rugge, William Skidmore and Graham Pressley.

The feud between Benjamin Markowitz, Nicholas Markowitz's half-brother, and Jesse James Hollywood, a mid-level drug dealer, began over the alleged debt to Hollywood incurred by Markowitz of $1,200. On August 6, 2000, Hollywood and several of his gang members decided to confront Benjamin. On their way to see him, however, they saw Nicholas Markowitz walking on the side of the road, having run away from home. Hollywood and his gang decided to abduct Nicholas in broad daylight in order to hold him for ransom in lieu of Benjamin Markowitz' debt. They chased, assaulted, and abducted Nicholas, escaping in a van. He then returned the van to the owner his dad's friend John Roberts.

Nicholas, Hollywood and his gang then traveled to a motel in Santa Barbara, California called the Lemon Tree Inn where they held a party. After the party, members of Jesse's gang allowed Nicholas to believe that he was heading home soon. Hollywood called Ryan Hoyt, a crew-member of Jesse's gang who was $1,200 in debt to him, to "take care of" Nicholas, giving him a Tec-9. Two members of the crew decided to commit the murder in the Goleta Hills above Santa Barbara, California. The two dug a shallow grave and returned to the hotel to pick up Nicholas and drive him to the mountains. Before Hoyt headed up to Lemon Tree Inn, Hollywood burrowed his friends mom car claiming he needed it to help him move, but he really used it as a tranportation to the murder scene. He let Hoyt drive it and drove his girlfriend's car to celebrate her birthday at the Orange Steakhouse, while Hoyt and the crew killed Nick.

Within a few days, police began arresting the crew members based on tips.

Life as a fugitive

At the time of Hoyt's arrest Hollywood fled the country through Canada ending in Brazil with help from his father Jack, godfather Richard Dispenza, and his girlfriend at the time. Law enforcement agencies and the Markowitz family offered a reward of $30,000 leading to Hollywood's capture, which was later raised to $50,000. He lived on Copacabana Beach where he assumed the identity of "Michael Costa Giroux" and claimed to be a native of Rio de Janeiro, and later Saquarema. In an attempt to blend in with the countryside he took up the Portuguese language. He worked in Brazil putting up posters advertising a nightclub and later landed a job by teaching private English language classes and being a dog walker. Yet, the bulk of the money Hollywood lived off came from a $1,200 monthly stipend funneled by his father. While in Brazil, he met Marcia Reis who became pregnant by Hollywood. She was close to full term, which Jesse James believed would protect him from extradition to the United States as Brazilian law states "If you're the father of a native Brazilian, you cannot be extradited" (See the case of Ronald Biggs). However Jesse James was wrong about the Brazilian laws, which had been changed since the international controversy with Biggs. He was in Brazil as an illegal immigrant because he had arrived in the country with a false passport, a fact that already would have allowed his deportation, regardless of his fathering a child with a native Brazilian.

United States authorities worked with Brazilian agents and found out that Hollywood was supposed to meet a cousin in a mall. He was arrested by FBI agents in Saquarema in March 2005. In August 2005 Reis gave birth to Hollywood's son, named John Paul Hollywood-Reis.

He was profiled on America's Most Wanted in June 2004 and twice after being captured in 2005. NBC's Dateline and Fox Network's America's Most Wanted have been covering this story extensively.

While Hollywood was in Brazil all participants in the murder were convicted or made pleas. Hoyt is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison in California, Graham Pressley was released from the California Youth Authority Facility in 2007, and Jesse Rugge is currently serving a life sentence in Pleasant Valley State Prison.

Trial

In 2006, the movie Alpha Dog, based on Jesse Hollywood and the kidnap and murder of Nicholas Markowitz, premiered. During filming, Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ronald J. Zonen provided copies of many documents on the case and served as an unpaid consultant to the film, citing his desire to have Hollywood captured. Zonen prosecuted Hollywood’s co-defendants and was poised to prosecute Hollywood. Hollywood's defense claimed there was a conflict of interest, and the California Court of Appeal for the Second District ruled on October 5, 2006 that, based on Zonen's disclosure of the files and consultant service—he should be recused from further involvement in prosecuting Hollywood. On December 20, 2006, the California Supreme Court granted review on the case effectively staying the order to recuse Zonen. On May 12, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that Zonen should not be recused. Nonetheless, Zonen was replaced with Joshua Lynn, who is serving as lead prosecution attorney.

After the Court review, in June 2008 his trial date was set to begin February 19, 2009, but it was delayed. Three months later the murder trial officially started Friday May 15th with the defense's opening statements saying Hollywood was not involved with the murder. In his opening statement, Santa Barbara County Deputy Dist. Atty. Joshua Lynn described Hollywood as "a ruthless coward." On Monday May 18th witnesses called to the stand were Jeff Markowitz (the victim's father), Pauline Mahoney (who was driving with her sons when she saw a group of men attacking Markowitz), and Brian Affonti (a one time friend of Hollywood's who was picked up after the kidnapping). Affonti told the jury that he knew about Hollywood's gun, a tech-nine, which is the alleged murder weapon. Chas Salsbury, Hollywood's getaway driver, testified at trial that following the murder "Hollywood seemed remorseful, depressed, and at some points even suicidal." Saulsbury continued on the fifth day with Kelly Carpenter discussing the actions of Rugge and Pressley’s mother.

See also

• Ronald Biggs

External links

• Jesse James Hollywood profile from America's Most Wanted
• Jesse James Hollywood profile from the FBI
• Jesse James Hollywood story from Crime Library