Becerra

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 SANTIAGO COVARRUBIAS, Case No.: 19-CV-546-JLS(WVG)

Petitioner,

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

v. ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF

HABEAS CORPUS

M.E. SPEARMAN, Warden, Respondent. 16 17 On March 15, 2019, Petitioner Santiago Covarrubias filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his criminal conviction of first- degree murder under California Penal Code § 187(a), along with a finding of personal use of a firearm under California Penal Code § 12022.53(d), and the subsequent sentence imposed for fifty years-to-life in state prison. Petitioner claims (1) there is insufficient evidence corroborating his accomplice’s testimony; (2) the trial court erred by admitting evidence of his ex-girlfriend’s “equivocal” identification of him when she was shown security footage by police; (3) the trial court erred by allowing a detective to opine on similarities between the suspect’s…