Slack

MEMORANDUM *

Antonio Slack appeals the district court’s denial of his pre-AEDPA petition for habeas relief, arguing that he was denied effective assistance of counsel on two grounds and that the district court abused its discretion in refusing to hold an eviden *573 tiary hearing on his ineffective assistance claims. We affirm.

Slack claims that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his counsel faded to conduct any investigation, or any interview, of Kamal Bey. We agree that Slack’s counsel was ineffective for failing to interview or investigate Bey. United States v. Tucker, 716 F.2d 576, 583-86 (9th Cir.1983) (failure to interview or investigate two key government witnesses in the prosecution’s case against the defendant fell below the level of competence and effective representation set by the Sixth Amendment); see also Riley v. Payne, 352 F.3d 1313, 1318-19 (9th Cir.2003) (failure to interview a witness who could have corroborated defendant’s self-defense theory was unreasonable); Sanders v. Ratelle, 21 F.3d 1446, 1457 (9th Cir.1994) (failure to investigate witness that could have provided evidence of actual innocence was unreasonable).

However, Slack’s…