[Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article contained incorrect information. The story has been corrected below.]

A witness testified Wednesday that Jesse James Hollywood, the man accused of masterminding the 2000 killing of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz, told him the Santa Barbara situation “has been taken care of” during a meal the pair shared at a steakhouse after the murder.

“The situation in Santa Barbara has been taken care of,” witness Casey Sheehan quoted Hollywood as saying as he and his longtime friend dined at an Outback Steakhouse.

Hollywood is on trial in Santa Barbara for Nicholas’ murder. The teen’s older half-brother, Ben Markowitz, dealt drugs with Hollywood; in the months before the killing, Markowitz had refused to settle a $1,200 drug debt with Hollywood, leading Hollywood and his associates to allegedly kidnap Nicholas. Hollywood allegedly ordered him killed later.

Hollywood, 29, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He will face the death penalty if convicted.

Sheehan, who told the court Wednesday that he had known Hollywood since elementary school, has been granted immunity in exchange for his testimony in the trial. Sheehan testified that he loaned Hollywood his vehicle prior to the time Nicholas disappeared. The vehicle is believed to have been used in Nicholas’ murder.

In the weeks leading up to Nicholas’ death, Sheehan said he had also seen a Tec-9 semi-automatic weapon in Hollywood’s home. Nicholas was shot nine times by a Tec-9; Ryan Hoyt was convicted of pulling the trigger and has been sentenced to death.

Markowitz spent a second day in court Wednesday as the defense was given its chance to cross-examine his Tuesday testimony. The defense was led by attorney James Blatt, who asked Markowitz numerous questions related to his prior drug usage and about his frequent memory loss.

Markowitz admitted to smoking one gram of marijuana, and to taking 12 to 15 Valium pills each day, including the day before his testimony against Hoyt.

Markowitz detailed his debt to Hollywood, and how it had accrued when he tried to sell fake ecstasy pills at a San Diego rave party. Markowitz had sold only 15 percent of his allotment, or $600 worth, when one customer returned to complain about the product. He then took a pill himself, and when no effects followed, he gave Hollywood the $600 and told him about his predicament.

Of the $1,400 Hollywood told Markowitz was still due, Markowitz got a $200 check from his father, which he turned over to Hollywood. Markowitz has testified that he eventually grew tired of the debt hanging over him, and using expletive-laden language, told Hollywood to forget about ever getting the money. This exchange occurred about six months before Nicholas’ disappearance, Markowitz said. This timeline is the same one he’s maintained throughout his testimony and in interviews with authorities.

Without missing a beat during testimony Wednesday, Blatt showed Markowitz the check in question, dated Dec.11, 1999, about eight months before his brother’s death.

Markowitz retorted that it was “about six months ago; it could have been January, and it could have been December.” He continued: “I just found out that my brother had been murdered, and I didn’t really have a calendar in front of me. You can stir it up all you want. It happened about six months ago.”

That latter reply earned Markowitz a terse reprimand from Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Brian E. Hill, who instructed him to answer only questions.

Blatt then asked Markowitz why he had decided to leave for his Arizona construction job after finding out that his brother was missing. Nicholas was reported missing on Aug. 6, 2000, a Sunday, the same day the older Markowitz traveled to Arizona for work. Markowitz said he had mistakenly thought his brother was first missing Saturday, and while he wanted to find Nicholas, he also needed the money from the construction job.

In another question to Markowitz, Blatt asked if the massive amounts of drugs he was taking may have affected his memory of the exact timeline, which was met with a “perhaps” from Markowitz.

Apparently irritated from Blatt’s attempts to discredit him, Markowitz asked Blatt if he knew what what “peckerwood” meant. This brought laughter to Wednesday’s otherwise stoic crowd, but the courtroom quickly fell quiet after Hill gave Markowitz another stern warning.

Markowitz also testified that he had not received any ransom demands or phone calls from either Hollywood or Nicholas during the search for the missing teen.

The defense team questioned Markowitz about why he hadn’t tried to rectify his torn relationship with Hollywood, especially after he had once observed Hollywood and some others waiting outside his home.

Markowitz responded that his fear of being killed kept him from approaching Hollywood about the friendship.

Also on the witness stand Wednesday was Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Wilkinson, one of nine deputies who barged into Hollywood’s girlfriend’s house in an attempt to find the defendant. The search, Wilkinson said, did not reveal Hollywood’s whereabouts, although he said he handcuffed Hollywood’s girlfriend because she refused to cooperate with the deputies.

Hollywood’s defense questioned the legality of the search, the methods used and why no female deputy had aided in the home’s search, seeing how two women resided there; Hollywood’s girlfriend had not been clothed when the deputies entered the home with their weapons drawn.

The trial resumes at 9 a.m. Friday with the cross-examination of Sheehan.

— Noozhawk intern Kenny Lindberg can be reached at news@noozhawk.com.

[Editor’s note: The comments feature on this article has been closed as of June 14, 2009.]