Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

Yes, two people can be charged with the same offense because 2 people can both be guilty of the offense. And, it might not matter if one confesses, the other could still be guilty. But, yes, the charges could be dropped against the non-confessor but it would not necessarily occur.

More information is needed to really answer this question.

If, for example, a car is stopped on traffic and there is cocaine lined up on the console between the seats, the officer could arrest both persons for the drugs because it is in the care, custody, and control of both people - they can both access it easily. Now, if the driver passed a drug test and the passenger admitted he laid out the line & was going to use it, then the prosecutor might dismiss against the driver but not necessarily.

Say a baggie of marijuana is found in the trunk of a car. The driver is the owner. No one can smell the pot. Both people could be arrested but it would be very hard to prove that the passenger had any idea that the pot was there. There is caselaw which dictates "affirmative links" which would support a conviction of the driver (even if it wasn't his.) But say that the passenger comes forward and says that while the driver was in the restroom at a gas station, the passenger put the pot in the trunk and didn't inform the driver. The prosecutor can use the passenger's statement against him and can, but does not have to, dismiss charges against the driver. Why you ask? He doesn't have to believe the passenger (and there is case law which would support the driver's conviction.) Frankly, both persons could be prosecuted (because of the passenger's statement against interest - confession.)

Shoplifting case - two people in the store. One person steals a necklace while the other is standing there. The person who took the necklace can obviously be charged but the other person can be too under the theory that the other person served as a lookout for the first. The other person is an accomplice (and the state does not have to believe either of them if either or both of them say that the second person was not looking out but just standing there.)

Anyway, more info is needed to directly answer your question.