Parole for kidnapper portrayed in 'Alpha Dog' film
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's parole board has voted to release one of the men convicted of kidnapping a 15-year-old boy murdered over a drug debt, a slaying that inspired the 2007 movie "Alpha Dog."
The Board of Parole Hearings on Tuesday upheld a July decision to release 33-year-old Jesse Rugge, after Gov. Jerry Brown asked the board to reconsider.
Parole board spokesman Bill Sessa says Rugge could be released on parole as early as next week.
Rugge was one of four accomplices of marijuana dealer Jesse James Hollywood, who prosecutors said orchestrated the kidnapping and killing of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000 because the teen's half brother owed a drug debt. Rugge was convicted of kidnapping but was acquitted of murder.
Sessa says the board decided Rugge "no longer poses an unreasonable risk of danger to the public."
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