Andrada, Michael, PD-0414-15

Andrada was charged with possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine (4–200 g) with a drug-free zone and unlawful possession of a firearm; trial followed a 2013 jury verdict of guilty and life sentence with a deadly weapon finding.
The State introduced gang-related testimony at sentencing through an expert (Koontz) who claimed Andrada belonged to North Side Locos and West Texas Tango; Koontz lacked corroborating materials (no Texas Violent Gang Task Force evidence, no judicial adjudication, no reliable informants).
A Rule 702 hearing was held outside the jury; the trial court admitted Koontz’s testimony over objections; jury heard Koontz’s gang opinions during punishment.
Evidence at the house included meth, cash, a firearm, body armor, scales, and narcotics paraphernalia; body armor and other items were admitted and later analyzed for relevance to intent and weapon finding.
Appellate court affirmed Andrada’s conviction and sentence; Andr ata petitions for discretionary review challenging the admissibility of gang testimony and related procedure.
Memorandum opinion confirms trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting gang testimony and that related evidentiary and procedural issues were properly handled.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether admitting gang membership testimony was reliable under Rule 702	Andrada argues Koontz’s testimony lacked reliability and basis	State contends testimony was within gang identification field and reliable given officer’s experience	Issue overruled; trial court did not abuse discretion; testimony admissible.
Whether the prosecutor’s deadly-weapon instruction misstatement violated law	Prosecutor misstated the law about using/exhibiting a firearm	Court properly instructed that jurors refer to the charge for the law	Issue overruled; argument not contrary to the charge; no reversible error.
Whether admission of gang-identification testimony at punishment was reliable	Testimony relied on soft science; reliability not shown	Officer’s expertise and experience plus accepted gang-study basis support reliability	Issue overruled; trial court did not abuse; evidence sufficiently reliable.
Whether omission of charge and verdict forms in the clerk’s record violated due process	Clerk’s record lacked guilt/innocence charge and verdict forms	Supplemental records and transcripts cured potential deficiency; no preserved error	Issue overruled; not preserved for review.

Hartman v. State, 946 S.W.2d 60 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (Rule 702 requires relevant and reliable expert evidence.)
Kelly v. State, 824 S.W.2d 568 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992) (Reliability and relevance standard for expert testimony.)
Vela v. State, 209 S.W.3d 128 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (Gatekeeping: reliability and relevance for expert testimony.)
Sexton v. State, 93 S.W.3d 96 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002) (Reliability concerns for scientific/technical evidence.)
Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990) (Abuse of discretion standard for admissibility; guiding principles.)
Morris v. State, 361 S.W.3d 649 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (Gang testimony admissible to show character/punishment with reliability)