Lopez v. State

Texas Penal Code § 12.45 permits a defendant (with the prosecutor’s consent) to admit guilt of an unadjudicated extraneous offense, have that offense taken into account by the trial court in sentencing on the primary offense, and thereafter bar any future prosecution for that extraneous offense. 1 In a prior prosecution, appellant and the State followed this procedure, and the trial court took into account two extraneous drug offenses. In the present case, the State sought to introduce evidence of those drug offenses as “prior convictions” to impeach appellant as a witness under Texas Rule of…