Slain Teen’s Sibling Arrested on Robbery Charge

Benjamin Markowitz, whose alleged drug debt authorities believe led to the kidnapping and killing of his younger half-brother last summer, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of robbery.

Markowitz, 22, was taken into custody about 12:30 p.m. after a routine traffic stop in Van Nuys, authorities said. A warrant for Markowitz’s arrest on felony robbery charges filed Feb. 2 was issued Monday, said Officer Jason Lee, an LAPD spokesman.

He is charged with armed robbery in a Dec. 23 incident in which he allegedly stole $200 at the Woodland Hills home of an acquaintance.

Prosecutors said that if convicted, Markowitz would face enhanced punishment because he has at least one conviction on his record. He is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, authorities said.

His half-brother, Nicholas Markowitz, 15, was kidnapped in August from near his West Hills home and held hostage in Santa Barbara for several days before being taken to a mountain area outside town and shot to death.

Benjamin Markowitz allegedly owed a childhood acquaintance, Jesse James Hollywood, a $36,000 drug debt, and authorities believe that may have led to Nicholas’ kidnapping.

His record includes criminal charges ranging from cultivating marijuana to driving under the influence, according to the Ventura County district attorney’s office.

In a court appearance last year, the half-brothers’ father, Jeffrey, testified that Benjamin was a troubled teenager with an interest in pistols and brass knuckles and a habit of disappearing for varying lengths of time.

He lived with a number of friends, his father said, and probably had as many friends as he had enemies.

Ryan James Hoyt, 21, of West Hills; Jesse Taylor Rugge, 20, of Santa Barbara; William Skidmore, 20, of Simi Valley; and Graham Pressley, 17, of Goleta are in custody and have been charged with murder and kidnapping in Nicholas’ death.

Authorities are still searching for 20-year-old Hollywood, of West Hills, whom detectives have described as a drug dealer.

After Nicholas’ abduction, while he was being held hostage in Santa Barbara, Hollywood placed a call to an attorney, court records show. Shortly after the boy’s death, Hollywood fled to Colorado, police said, reappearing in West Hills in late August.