4 Plead Not Guilty in Slaying of Teenager

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. Skidmore, 20, of Simi Valley; Jesse Taylor Rugge, 20, of Santa Barbara; and Graham Pressley, 17, of Goleta, were charged with one felony count each of kidnapping and murder.

Each faces an allegation of special circumstances, which will make them eligible for the death penalty if they are convicted. Prosecutors with the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office said they have not decided whether they will seek the death penalty.

The four were arrested Aug. 16 on suspicion of killing Nicholas Markowitz, who allegedly had been kidnapped Aug. 6 and kept at two different houses in Santa Barbara. Hikers found his body in the mountains north of Santa Barbara.

The four killed Markowitz, authorities said, because his older half brother owed 20-year-old Jesse James Hollywood of West Hills, said by police to be a well-known drug dealer, about $36,000 for marijuana. Hollywood was a boyhood friend of the three older suspects, and also played baseball with them in a league.

Hollywood is the subject of a nationwide search by three law enforcement agencies. He was last seen in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Aug. 20.

As lawyers spoke briefly with their clients in a holding cell Friday, the suspects’ families tried to catch a glimpse of their loved ones. Pressley, who was led into the courtroom first, bowed his head and closed his eyes as his lawyer, Bill Duval, asked him questions. The teenager will be tried as an adult.

Standing in a line, the three other suspects responded to questions from Superior Court Judge Deborah Talmage, who set a Sept. 7 pretrial hearing.

Attorney Russell Halprin, who represents Skidmore, said his client’s family has been traumatized by the accusations.

“They are obviously upset that their son is in any way involved with this crime,” Halprin said. “I think all of the families are surprised. All of these kids come from good families.”

The three men are being held in Santa Barbara County Jail and Pressley is being held at the county’s Juvenile Hall. All are being detained without bail, authorities said.