## Facts

- After a nightclub confrontation, a caravan of cars fired on David Valadez’s vehicle on a Dallas highway; Valadez was shot, crashed, and died.
- Ronnie Tienda Jr. was at least present in one of the cars during the shooting, but witness testimony conflicted about who fired, which car he rode in, and which car fired the fatal shots.
- No firearm was recovered; casings suggested multiple weapons, and the fatal bullet could not be matched to a specific gun.
- Valadez’s sister located three MySpace profiles she believed were controlled by Tienda and notified prosecutors.
- The State obtained MySpace subscriber reports and printed profile pages and content, offering them as Tienda’s statements.
- The pages contained photos (including images showing distinctive tattoos), nicknames/monikers, user and email information, comments and messages, gang references, Dallas-related personal details, references to an ankle monitor, and references to Valadez’s death and funeral.
- Tienda objected that the MySpace pages and messages were not properly authenticated; the trial court admitted them over a running objection.
- A jury convicted Tienda of murder and assessed a 35-year sentence; the intermediate appellate court affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting MySpace pages and messages absent sufficient authentication that Tienda created or authored them.
2. Whether circumstantial indicia in social-media content can satisfy the prima facie authenticity requirement under Texas Rule of Evidence 901 without additional technological proof.

## Decision

- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction.
- The court held the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the MySpace evidence.
- The State made a prima facie showing that a reasonable juror could find the pages were Tienda’s, and remaining disputes about authorship were for the jury.

## Legal Principles

- Authentication requires only a prima facie showing that evidence is what its proponent claims; the trial judge asks whether a reasonable juror could find the item authentic.
- Once the threshold showing is met, the jury determines credibility, weight, and whether the party actually authored the statements.
- Social-media evidence may be authenticated through circumstantial evidence, including distinctive characteristics, photographs, personal biographical details, and contextual references to events.
- No heightened or mandatory “technological” method (e.g., IP tracing or platform-employee testimony) is required to authenticate social-networking content; ordinary Rule 901 principles apply.
- A cumulative set of corroborating identifiers can support authentication even if any single identifier might be insufficient standing alone.

## Conclusion

The court upheld admission of MySpace profiles and messages because their combined identifying content—photos with recognizable tattoos, personal details consistent with Tienda, and references to the offense and its aftermath—allowed a reasonable juror to find they were attributable to him, satisfying Rule 901’s prima facie authentication standard without requiring special technological proof.


Tienda v. State, 358 S.W.3d 633 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012)