Torres

MEMORANDUM **

Juan Torres, Jr., a California state prisoner, appeals pro se the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition challenging his conviction for first degree murder with a firearm. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 . We review de novo the district court’s denial of Torres’ habeas petition, see Dows v. Wood, 211 F.3d 480, 484 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 908 , 121 S.Ct. 254 , 148 L.Ed.2d 183 (2000), and we affirm.

Torres contends that the trial court improperly excluded evidence of third-party culpability in the form of evidence relating to the victim’s cocaine use, which would have supported a theory that the victim’s death resulted from a drug deal. 1 His *837 contention is unpersuasive, because the trial court’s decision to exclude evidence that did not directly link a third party to the crime was not contrary to and did not involve an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court. 28 USC § 2254 (d)(1); see Van Tran v. Lindsey, 212 F.3d 1143, 1149 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 944 , 121 S.Ct. 340 , 148 L.Ed.2d 274 (2000); Montana v. Egelhoff, 518 U.S. 37 , 116 S.Ct. 2013 , 135 L.Ed.2d 361 (1996)…