Marcos Reis-Campos v. Martin Biter

832 F.3d 968, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14519, 2016 WL 4174770
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedAugust 8, 2016
Docket15-15683
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 832 F.3d 968 (Marcos Reis-Campos v. Martin Biter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marcos Reis-Campos v. Martin Biter, 832 F.3d 968, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14519, 2016 WL 4174770 (9th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

OWENS, Circuit Judge:

Marcos Reis-Campos appeals from the district court’s order denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his 2007 second-degree murder conviction. He correctly argues that the prosecution concealed evidence that could have bolstered his self-defense claim. However, the immensely deferential standard of review mandates that we affirm the district court.

I. Factual Background and Procedural History

On June 26, 2004, Reis-Campos — a Nor-teño gang member — killed Luis Guillermo Fuentes — the head of the local (and rival) MS-13 gang. The shooting occurred in Norteño territory in San Francisco, where Reis-Campos encountered Fuentes and his six-year-old son walking down the sidewalk. Fuentes wore blue shoes, MS-13’s color. Reis-Campos was not wearing or displaying anything red, his gang’s color. Reis-Campos shot Fuentes six times, hitting him in the face, back of the head, and back. After the shooting, Reis-Campos ran away, tossed the gun, and entered a laundromat, where he was arrested.

A. Trial

1. The Prosecution Case

Reis-Campos was charged with first-degree murder in violation of California Penal Code § 187. In his July 2007 jury trial, the prosecution argued that Reis-Campos executed Fuentes to gain status in the Norteño gang, and that Fuentes disrespected the Norteños by wearing blue shoes in Norteño territory. The prosecution also contended that Fuentes was an easy target because his six-year-old son was present. While the prosecution acknowledged that Fuentes belonged to MS-13, it downplayed his violent history, at one point characterizing Fuentes as “a family man,” emphasizing that “[h]e has kids and he’s a [house] painter.” The prosecution contended that Reis-Campos’ self-defense claim was “fabricated” and that his testimony about Fuentes’ prior threats was not credible.

To support its case, the prosecution called, among other witnesses: (1) Fuentes’ son; (2) an eyewitness to the shooting; and (3) Reis-Campos’ cellmate, who testified that Reis-Campos confided that he had confronted Fuentes, and after Fuentes pulled a knife and told him to leave him alone, chased down and shot Fuentes.

The prosecution also called San Francisco Police Sergeant Mario Molina, the case investigator and gang expert. Molina testified about various gang practices. He opined that the killing benefitted Reis-Campos by helping him rise in the Nor-teño ranks, and the Norteños by providing recognition and warning rival gangs.

In addition, Molina testified about his relationship with Fuentes. He claimed that he knew Fuentes primarily from soccer games at a local playground, and did not know of Fuentes’ high rank in MS-13 until after Fuentes was shot. On direct examination, when asked about the March 2004 Norteño killing of an MS-13 member, Molina agreed that this killing could lead to MS-13 retaliation against Norteños. When asked whether he knew of any such retaliation, Molina first said that he did not recall any. Asked again, Molina said that *971 he could not “think of any incident right now.” And on cross-examination, he again denied any knowledge of retaliation: “I am not sure there was any specific retaliation for his death that said we are going to go kill somebody because [of the March 2004 killing]. I don’t have that information.” Consistent with his professed lack of knowledge, Molina said he was unaware of any specific MS-13 calls to kill Norteños.

2. The Defense Case

Reis-Campos testified in his own defense, and claimed that Fuentes was out to get him. While the two had started out on friendly terms, their relationship quickly deteriorated once Reis-Campos rejected Fuentes’ attempt to recruit him to MS-13. Reis-Campos’ dating a woman who was carrying the child of another MS-13 member only made things worse. Reis-Campos claimed that by December 2003, he was told that MS-13 wanted to kill him, so he shortly thereafter joined the Norteños for protection.

Reis-Campos also claimed that Fuentes threatened his life on several occasions before the June 2004 shooting. These incidents included: (1) in March 2004, an MS-13 member shot at him (wounding his female companion); (2) in May 2004, Fuentes and his associates driving in a car chased down Reis-Campos and his associates and shot at them; (3) in early June 2004, Fuentes pointed a long-barreled gun at Reis-Campos outside a pizzeria; and (4) shortly after the pizzeria incident, Reis-Campos encountered Fuentes at the Hall of Justice, where Fuentes and an associate flashed gang tattoos and colors at Reis-Campos.

On the night of the shooting, Reis-Cam-pos said that he was walking towards a tattoo parlor in Norteño territory when he saw Fuentes, in blue shoes, walking with his son. His son then walked away, leaving the two alone. Fuentes, “looking mad,” approached Reis-Campos and backed him up towards a wall. A few feet away from Reis-Campos, Fuentes bent over. Fearing that Fuentes was reaching for a weapon, Reis-Campos pulled out his gun. And when Fuentes reached for Reis-Campos’ gun, Reis-Campos opened fire. He testified that he acted in self-defense, and not to boost his profile among the Norteños. As Reis-Campos put it: “Could be me or him. He had tried to kill me in the past.” He said he shot Fuentes because “[h]e could take the gun away from me and kill me. He was bigger and stronger than me.”

The jury rejected Reis-Campos’ claim of self-defense, and found him guilty of second-degree murder (with enhancements for acting for the benefit: of a criminal street gang and using a firearm), 1 as well as active participation in a street gang. 2

3. Post-Trial Motions

In November 2007, Reis-Campos filed a motion for a new trial. Before filing its opposition, the prosecution sent this letter to defense counsel:

It has come to my attention that there may be a federal informant who provided information to the Daly City Police Department about a shooting and that this informant provided information that “Memo” [Fuentes] was the purported driver of the vehicle. I have nothing in writing regarding this.
I have contacted Inspector Draper of the Daly City Police Department who declined to provide any documentation concerning this as there is an ongoing investigation.
*972 I am sharing this information with you in an abundance of caution.

After this disclosure, Reis-Campos filed a motion for an evidentiary hearing based on this new information about Fuentes’ violent past. The trial court denied both motions in January 2008, and sentenced Reis-Campos to 50 years to life.

B. State Court Appeal and Habeas Proceedings

Reis-Campos timely appealed in March 2008. Among other arguments, he contended that: (1) the prosecution suppressed material information favorable to the defense and the trial court erred in denying him a related evidentiary hearing, violating his rights to due process and a fair trial under Brady v. Maryland,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
832 F.3d 968, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 14519, 2016 WL 4174770, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marcos-reis-campos-v-martin-biter-ca9-2016.