Tallagua

Thomas Tallagua, a former deputy sheriff, appeals from his conviction for giving perjured testimony during a preliminary hearing. He also petitions for a writ of habeas corpus. We ordered the petition be considered along with the appeal. For the reasons set forth below we affirm the conviction and deny the petition for writ of habeas corpus.

Facts and Proceedings Below

Tallagua and his partner, Deputy Alvarez, were on patrol when they were flagged down by Christina Montoya. Ms. Montoya told the deputies her common law husband, Harold Howard, had come home drunk, was acting violently and was armed with a knife. She also told them Mr. Howard had recently been released from Soledad prison.

The deputies called for a backup unit and then drove a short distance to Ms. Montoya’s home. When the backup, unit arrived, Tallagua, Deputy Alvarez, one of the backup deputies and Ms. Montoya entered Ms. Montoya’s home. Inside they found Mr. Howard sitting on a couch quietly watching television. A jacket was on the couch next to Mr. Howard.

Deputy Alvarez ordered Mr. Howard to stand up. He then searched Mr. Howard but found nothing. Next, Deputy Alvarez searched the jacket on the…