Court lets prosecutor remain on ‘Alpha Dog’ case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a prosecutor who helped in the making of the movie “Alpha Dog” to remain on the death-penalty case on which the film is based.

The justices, in an order Monday, denied an appeal from Jesse James Hollywood, who prosecutors say masterminded a plot to kidnap and murder 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz. He was killed in 2000 because his older half brother owed Hollywood money, prosecutors say.

A California appeals court had earlier removed Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen from the case after he turned over sensitive materials to director Nick Cassavetes. “Alpha Dog” is a fictionalized account of the killing.

Zonen said he helped Cassavetes to help publicize the hunt for Hollywood, who was captured in 2005 in Brazil after spending nearly five years on the lam.