Joshua Lynn

Facing the jury of nine women and three men, the prosecutor asked for justice, saying the case isn’t about the defendant, but rather it is about the 15-year-old Jewish boy named Nicholas Markowitz, who would likely still be alive today if it wasn’t for a chance meeting with Hollywood.

This testimony was delivered by Graham Pressley, who was convicted of second-degree murder for his role in the killing. On August 8, Pressley said Rugge told him about the solicitation. He said Rugge promised he wouldn’t hurt Nicholas and called Hollywood "crazy."

Hollywood admitted to kidnapping Nicholas, saying he saw the boy walking down the street shortly after the windows at his home were broken out. Nicholas’ older brother, Ben Markowitz, who owed the defendant $1,200 in drug money at the time, had just claimed responsibility for breaking the windows.

Before concluding, Lynn showed three gruesome pictures of Nicholas’ bullet-riddled body after it was unearthed from the shallow grave at Lizard's Mouth. The boy's parents, who have been in court nearly every day of the trial, wept.

Lynn received his B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz and his J.D. from the University of San Diego Law School. He was a deputy district attorney for 14 years and was promoted to Chief Trial Deputy for South Santa Barbara County in 2008. He served as District Attorney when the elected District Attorney, Christie Stanley was unable to serve for an extended period of time because of illness. As Chief Trial Deputy, Lynn supervised criminal operations, all prosecutions and all of the deputy district attorneys in the South County of Santa Barbara. He began his career as a prosecutor with the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office in 1996. After heading up the Domestic Violence unit, he was assigned to gang, three strikes and violent felony cases. He has taught Advanced Evidence at the Santa Barbara School of Law. Lynn received the Thomas Guerry Award in 2006. Lynn is currently a partner in the firm of Lynn & O’Brien, LLP.

The prosecutor maintained Hollywood kidnapped Nicholas Markowitz on August 6, 2000, from a street near his home, and two days later, in an attempt to cover up the kidnapping, ordered his friends to kill the boy. Although Hollywood was far from the scene of the murder when it occurred, Lynn's task was to prove that Hollywood was as guilty as the man who pulled the trigger. The fact that trial occurred nine years after the murder, added to the difficulty of prosecution of Hollywood. Hollywood was defended by James Blatt, winner of Los Angeles Criminal Courts Bar Association's Trial Lawyer of the Year Award in 2005. Lynn replaced deputy district attorney Ronald J. Zonen, who had been removed from the case because the prosecutor had shared confidential files with movie producers.

Prosecutors contend Nicholas was kidnapped by Hollywood and his cohorts in August 2000 just blocks from his home to put pressure on his half-brother Ben Markowitz to repay money he owed Hollywood for drugs.

Joshua Eric Lynn (born December 14, 1969, in Santa Barbara, California) was the Chief Trial Deputy of Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara, California from 2008 to 2010. He was the lead prosecuting attorney in the trial of Jesse James Hollywood, who was convicted and sentenced to Life in Prison on February 5, 2010. On June 15, 2010, Lynn was fired from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office for his alleged conduct following his loss to Joyce Dudley during the County’s District Attorney election.[1]

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