Waco, TX – Marcus Beaudin, the Waco attorney previously implicated in a complex murder-for-hire plot, has pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated (DWI) for the second time. Beaudin, 41, was sentenced to two years of misdemeanor probation by McLennan County Court-at-Law Judge Vik Deivanayagam after he admitted to driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.27, more than three times the legal limit. As part of the plea agreement, Beaudin will also serve three days in county jail and face a six-month suspension of his driver’s license.
In addition to the DWI case, Beaudin faced charges of attempted indecency with a child by contact, stemming from an alleged incident involving a family member of former Waco attorney Seth Sutton. However, the Falls County District Attorney’s Office, under the leadership of Jody Gilliam, dismissed the molestation charges Thursday, citing insufficient evidence to proceed with a conviction. The charge alleged that Beaudin had attempted to molest the Sutton family member when she was 14 years old.
Beaudin’s legal troubles have been compounded by his connection to a murder-for-hire scheme that involved Sutton and Beaudin’s ex-wife, Chelsea Tijerina. Sutton, 49, had reportedly plotted to kill Beaudin after the molestation allegations came to light. The scheme was foiled when an undercover Waco police officer, posing as a hitman, infiltrated Sutton’s motorcycle club. Sutton’s first trial for the murder-for-hire plot ended in a mistrial in August 2023 after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. He later pleaded guilty to a Class B misdemeanor for making a terroristic threat and was sentenced to four days in jail, a period he had already served. Sutton was also required to surrender his law license for a minimum of three years.
Tijerina, 34, who was also an attorney, died in a motorcycle crash in May 2021, before she could face charges related to the murder-for-hire plot. During Sutton’s trial, a detective testified that Sutton had approached him with a plan to kill Beaudin, and that Tijerina had been involved in drafting multiple scenarios for the hit. Sutton was recorded discussing details of the plan, including the purchase of an untraceable gun, potential alibis, and escape routes.
As part of his DWI case, Beaudin also agreed to a condition barring him from contacting the young Sutton family member involved in the dismissed molestation case. Beaudin and his attorney, Phil Frederick, declined to comment following the guilty plea.
Sutton, who has since moved to Houston, expressed disappointment with the decision to dismiss the molestation charge. “We are heartbroken, but not surprised,” he said. “The entire criminal justice system in this county long ago made it painfully clear they would use Marcus’ attack to come after my family, not protect us from it.”
Beaudin’s arrest for DWI in July 2023 stemmed from an incident at a convenience store, where he allegedly harassed a clerk who refused to sell him alcohol. Police found Beaudin parked at another store, where they described him as appearing to be asleep with the engine running. Beaudin initially resisted when officers attempted to arrest him, eventually being taken to the ground to be restrained.
Despite these legal challenges, Beaudin remains an active figure in the Waco legal community, though his future prospects have been severely impacted by the series of events surrounding him.
