Berckefeldt

MEMORANDUM **

Jesse Von Berckefeldt appeals the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He argues that he was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial and that the admission of a witness’s testimony regarding an incident unrelated to the charges against him violated his due process rights. We affirm the denial of the habeas petition.

First, Von Berckefeldt does not show that his attorney was ineffective in failing to locate a witness to the shoot-out. Counsel and his investigator made a reasonable effort to locate the witness, who had fled the state and was concealing her whereabouts. Further, Von Berckefeldt was not prejudiced by counsel’s inability to locate the witness because her testimony would have been cumulative and because, given her prior contradictory statements, it is not clear that she would have testified in the manner Von Berckefeldt asserts. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 694 , 104 S.Ct. 2052 , 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Second, trial counsel’s decision not to object to the prosecutor’s closing argument did not constitute ineffective assistance because the prosecutor made no “egregious misstatements.” See United States v. Necoechea,…