Tony Chun-Ho Szeto v. Ruth Rushen, California State Department of Corrections and John Van De Kamp , Attorney General for the State of California

Appellant Tony Chun-Ho Szeto appeals the judgment of the district court denying his petition for habeas corpus. We affirm.

Szeto had been convicted by jury trial in a California state court of being an accessory to a felony and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. On direct appeal his conviction was reversed by the state Court of Appeal, principally on the ground that accomplice testimony against him had not been sufficiently corroborated. The Supreme Court of California granted hearing and affirmed the conviction. People v. Szeto, 29 Cal.3d 20 , 623 P.2d 213 , 171 Cal.Rptr. 652 (1981).

As set forth in the Supreme Court opinion, the charges against Szeto arose out of the 1977 “Golden Dragon Massacre” when members of a Chinese youth gang “entered a crowded restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown and opened fire on the patrons, intending to revenge themselves on members of two rival Chinese youth gangs * * * but instead killing and wounding innocent bystanders.” 29 Cal.3d at 26 , 623 P.2d at 216 , 171 Cal.Rptr. at 655 . Five bystanders were killed and 11 others were wounded. The jury convicted Szeto of aiding the perpetrators by disposing of their weapons, including a sawed-off…