Houston v. Nelson

ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

Petitioner was charged with kidnapping, felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of extortion in an information filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, California. The extortion counts were subsequently dropped. Following a jury trial, he was found guilty of kidnapping for ransom and unlawful possession of a firearm and sentenced to concurrent terms in state prison.

The conviction was affirmed by the California Court of Appeal and a petition for hearing before the California Supreme Court was denied. Petitioner then filed this petition in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and it was transferred to this district for disposition.

I conclude that the application for discharge from custody by way of a Writ of Habeas Corpus must be denied. Petitioner has failed to demonstrate that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2254 .

FACTS

Houston began living with a 15 year-old runaway girl. Together they contrived a plan to kidnap the girl’s 9 year-old brother and hold him for $10,000 ransom, an amount the girl…