Joshua D. Threlkeld v. Brian Cates

I. Introduction

On July 14, 2021, Petitioner, a California state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (the “Petition”). (Dkt. No. 1.) According to the Petition, Petitioner is unsure of the date of his conviction and sentence, but he states that he was convicted in Riverside County Superior Court. (Petition at 2-3.) State court records1 indicate that a Riverside County Superior Court jury convicted Petitioner in March 2012 of 80 violations of the California Penal Code (“Cal. Penal Code”), including kidnapping a child under the age of 14 (Cal. Penal Code § 207(b)), committing lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 (Cal. Penal Code § 288(a)), committing lewd acts on a child age 14 or 15 by a person 10 years older (Cal. Penal Code § 288(c)(1)), and, inter alia, contacting or communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a specified sex offense (Cal. Penal Code § 288.3(a)), and the jury also found true numerous sentencing enhancement allegations. People v. Threlkeld, No. G048937, 2014 WL 1271699, at *1-2 (Mar. 28, 2014). The California Court of Appeals observed that there were 41 children who were victims…