Maurice Thompson v. Derral Adams

MEMORANDUM

California state prisoner Maurice Thompson appeals from the district court’s judgment denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 . We review de novo a district court’s decision to deny a § 2254 petition, see Emery v. Clark, 643 F.3d 1210, 1214 (9th Cir.2011), and we affirm.

Thompson contends that the state court’s denial of his claim as to insufficiency of the evidence to support the gang enhancement is contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 , 99 S.Ct. 2781 , 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). Thompson argues there was insufficient evidence to establish that the crimes he was found to have committed were gang related, and that the two unidentified perpetrators he was found to have assisted were gang members. We disagree.

The jury heard evidence that Thompson was a dedicated gang member and that the crimes at issue in this case were committed in the gang’s territory. An expert witness on gangs opined that the gang made money from robbery and selling stolen merchandise, among other things; that the gang committed acts of violence to maintain control of the area and instill fear; that an…