Nicholas Markowitz Kidnapper Makes Parole

A man convicted of kidnapping the 15-year-old whose murder inspired the 2007 movie Alpha Dog was cleared for release by California’s parole board on Tuesday.

State parole board spokesperson Bill Sessa said Jesse Rugge could be released as early as next week, according to the Associated Press. The prison will have five days to release Rugge, though no date or location was given. He had been serving his time at the California Institute for Men in Chino.

Thirteen years ago, Jesse Rugge assisted drug dealer and convicted murderer Jesse James Hollywood in the high profile kidnapping and slaying of Nicholas Markowitz at Lizard’s Mouth, a popular hiking location in the hills above Santa Barbara. Markowitz was killed because his half-brother owed Hollywood $1,200.