3 Men Plead Not Guilty in Abduction, Slaying of West Hills Teenager

Three young men charged with kidnapping and murdering a 15-year-old West Hills boy pleaded not guilty Thursday, while a 17-year-old defendant facing the same charges put off entering a plea.

The four were arrested in August in connection with the slaying of Nicholas Markowitz, whose bullet-riddled body was found in the mountains north of Santa Barbara.

The boy had been kidnapped from his West Hills neighborhood Aug. 6 in a botched attempt to force his older half-brother to pay a drug debt, authorities said.

Entering pleas in a brief appearance before Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge William Gordon were Ryan James Hoyt, 21, of West Hills; Jesse Taylor Rugge, 20, of Santa Barbara, and William R. Skidmore, 20, of Simi Valley.

The fourth defendant--Graham Pressley, 17, of Goleta--requested a separate meeting with the judge, set for Dec. 21. Pressley’s attorney, Bill Duval, said he intended to challenge the prosecution’s decision to try the teenager as an adult.

Appearing in jail jumpsuits with their wrists cuffed and their waists wrapped in chains, the four defendants appeared pale and subdued. All four agreed to waive their rights to a speedy trial until at least May to allow their attorneys time to prepare a defense.

Authorities are still searching for a fifth man who allegedly masterminded the crime, Jesse James Hollywood, 20, of West Hills.

Hollywood, described by detectives as a flashy drug dealer, fled his West Hills home in August as soon as news of the killing was made public.