Jesse Irvin Payne v. Steven Smith, Steven Beshear

BAILEY BROWN, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Jesse Irvin Payne is seeking habeas corpus relief from a Kentucky conviction of four counts of robbery in the first degree. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the district court’s denial of appellant’s claims for relief.

I

Between 2:15 and 2:30 a.m. on December 31, 1977, two black males entered the Holiday Inn Southeast on Bardstown Road near Watterson Expressway in Louisville, Kentucky. One was armed with a sawed-off shotgun and the other with a .38 caliber derringer pistol. The two men forced three motel employees to lie on each other on the floor…