Madrigal v. Macomber

• Decision Date: 21 December 2016
• Docket Number: Case No. 1:14-cv-01436-LJO-SAB-HC
• Parties: ISCANDER MADRIGAL, Petitioner, v. JEFF MACOMBER, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California

ISCANDER MADRIGAL, Petitioner, v. JEFF MACOMBER, Respondent.

Case No. 1:14-cv-01436-LJO-SAB-HC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

December 21, 2016

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDING DENIAL OF AMENDED PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

(ECF No. 33)

Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

I.BACKGROUND

On June 28, 2011, Petitioner was convicted after a jury trial in the Kings County Superior Court of first-degree murder. (1 CT¹ 234). The jury also found that the murder was committed to further the activities of a criminal street gang and that Petitioner personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death. (1 CT 234-35). Petitioner was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus twenty-five years to life. (2 CT 318). On June 5, 2013, the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District affirmed the judgment. People v. Madrigal, No. F062969, 2013 WL 2450922, at *14 (Cal. Ct. App. June 5, 2013). The California Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition for review on August 21, 2013. (LDs² 20, 21).

Thereafter, Petitioner filed a state petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Kings County Superior Court, which denied the petition on March 12, 2014. (LDs 22, 23). Petitioner filed a state habeas petition in the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District, which denied the petition on May 15, 2014. (LDs 24, 25). Petitioner then filed a state habeas petition in the California Supreme Court, which denied the petition on August 13, 2014. (LDs 26, 27).

On September 15, 2014, Petitioner filed a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in this Court challenging his 2011 murder conviction. (ECF No. 1). On September 17, 2015, the Court granted Petitioner's motion to amend the petition to withdraw claim 4, the ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and granted Petitioner's motion to stay this matter pursuant to Kelly v. Small, 315 F.3d 1063 (9th Cir. 2002), pending exhaustion of state remedies. (ECF No. 29). On October 19, 2015, Petitioner filed a state petition for writ of habeas corpus in the California Supreme Court, which denied the petition on February 3, 2016. (LDs 28, 29).

On April 11, 2016, the Court lifted the stay and granted Petitioner's motion to amend the petition to include the newly exhausted ineffective assistance of counsel claim. (ECF No. 35). In the amended petition, Petitioner raises the following claims for relief: (1) erroneous admission of Detective Buhl's testimony, in violation of the Confrontation Clause and due process; (2) erroneous admission of confidential informant Garcia's recording and testimony, in violation of the Fourth Amendment and due process; and (3) ineffective assistance of trial counsel. (ECF No. 33). Respondent has filed an answer, and Petitioner has filed a traverse. (ECF Nos. 38, 43).

II.STATEMENT OF FACTS³

Facts Relating to the Murder

On May 22, 2010, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Juan Zavala and his girlfriend Daniella Rizo went to the Circle K to purchase some medicine. Zavala went into the store while Rizo waited outside in the parking lot in the driver's seat of her white Explorer, listening to the radio. There was a white Mustang parked a few spaces over from the Explorer with three people inside. While in the store, Zavala did not notice any problems between any of the customers. Zavala exited the store without making a purchase and went to speak with Rizo in the parking lot. He was about to go back into the store when he noticed some arguing between one of themen from the Mustang and someone from another car that was parked next to the Mustang. Zavala wasn't paying much attention to the argument as he did not want to become involved. He did notice that the man from the Mustang was standing on the passenger side of the car while the person he was arguing with was standing on the other side of the car. Zavala heard a shot and the man on the passenger side of the Mustang fell to the ground while the people in the other car sped off. The man, later identified as Luis Meza, died. Zavala had not seen any weapons.

Rizo testified that as Zavala was going back into the store, she heard a loud noise and then something hit her vehicle. She looked over and saw a man fall to the ground as a red car sped off. She also noticed that the back passenger's and driver's windows on her Explorer were now broken.

Victor Arellano was working the night shift at Circle K on the evening of the murder. He explained that he had parked his truck in a parking stall in front of the store. During his shift, a small red car parked in the stall to the right of his truck in front of the store. The white Mustang was in the stall to the right of the red car. Arellano had noticed a man exit the passenger side of the red car and enter the store. He identified this man as defendant. Defendant was wearing a white shirt with red sleeves.

Inside the store, defendant selected several items of candy and ultimately purchased a king-size Reese's candy bar. After making the purchase, defendant hurried out of the store while Arellano helped another customer. Arellano heard a loud pop coming from the parking lot, looked out, and saw two cars rapidly exiting the parking lot. One was a small red car, the other was a gray car that had been parked behind the red car and a white Mustang. He called 911 and went outside where he noticed the victim lying on the ground bleeding. The victim was on the passenger side of the white Mustang.

Arellano explained that the store had a video surveillance system, and two videos from the night of the murder were played for the jury. The first video was of the area near the register and depicted a number of customers inside the store. Arellano identified the victim entering the store wearing a black suit with white patches on the shoulders. He stated the victim had arrived in the white Mustang. While the victim was still inside the store, defendant arrived in the red car. Defendant entered the store while the victim was still inside. The victim left the store prior to defendant. Just after the victim left the store, a regular customer entered the store. The man was wearing a gray jacket. This was the man driving the gray car which was parked behind the white Mustang and the red car, blocking the Mustang and partially blocking the red car. While inside the store, defendant spoke to a man with sunglasses on his head, later identified as Christian Lopez. It appeared as if Lopez was waiting for defendant in the store. Defendant left the store after making his purchase. Arellano heard the loud pop shortly thereafter while he was helping the next customer.

The second video showed the inside of the store looking out into the parking lot. On the video, the white Mustang is parked in front of the store when the red car arrived and parked next to it. Defendant exited the passenger side of the red car and entered the store. Later, the victim left and the man driving the gray car parked behind the Mustang and the red car and entered the store. Shortly thereafter, defendant and Lopez left the store, and defendant appeared to enter the passenger side of the red car. When Arellano heard the pop, he looked up and saw the red car leave first, followed by the gray car.

Jennifer Machado, a Kings County Sheriff's Deputy, was dispatched to a call of shots fired at 11:38 p.m. She arrived at the Circle K within 20 to 30 seconds of the dispatch. Upon arrival, she noticed the victim with a gunshot wound to his chest, lying on his back next to the passenger side of the white Mustang. Although his eyes were open, he had no pulse and was not moving. She secured the scene and searched the area. She did not find any weapons at the scene or near the victim, however, she did not search any people at the scene. She noticed the white Explorer had a bullet hole in each of the two rear windows and the glass was broken.

Kings County Sheriff's Deputy Trevor Lopes responded to the murder, finding a slug in a home across the street from the Circle K. He assisted in preparing a crime scene diagram and noted the Explorer was separated from the white Mustang by one parking stall. Kings County Sheriff's Detective David Morrell found a nine-millimeter shell casing at the scene in the parking lot. This item was submitted for fingerprint analysis, however, no prints were found on the casing. Using a string through the two holes in the Explorer's windows, the detective attempted to trace the bullet's trajectory. He determined the trajectory was consistent with where the slug was found in the house across the street. He also searched the victim's body and found no weapons, however, he did not search any of the people at the scene.

Kings County Sheriff's Deputy Rachel Moroles assisted in the homicide investigation. On May 23, 2010, at approximately 6:30 a.m. she arrived at Lopez's home in Coalinga and found a red Honda. She found a king-size Reese's peanut butter candy wrapper on the passenger side floorboard of the car.

Coalinga police officer Amy Freeman testified that on May 10, 2010, she contacted Lopez regarding a possible burglary. During a search of his car, she found a loaded nine-millimeter gun magazine.

Kings County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Fernandes identified victim Meza. Meza had the moniker of "Camaron," meaning "Shrimp." Meza was later determined to be an active Sureno gang member.

Dr. Burr Hartman, a forensic pathologist, examined the victim's body and determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest that went through the heart and severed the left pulmonary artery, causing the victim to bleed to death. The bullet went through the victim's body entering just above the left nipple and exiting on the left side of his back. During the examination of the victim's body, Dr. Hartman noticed a "13" tattoo on the web of the thumb on the victim's right hand, as well as the words "Huron" a

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