Texas lawyer accused in plot to murder another attorney seeks 'hybrid representation' at trial
Texas lawyer Seth Sutton is asking a court to allow a “hybrid representation” in which Sutton defends himself in court, along with his lawyer, Clint Broden of Dallas. Image from Shutterstock.
A lawyer in Waco, Texas, who is accused of plotting to murder another attorney has filed a motion seeking to participate in his defense when his trial begins next month.
Lawyer Seth Sutton is asking the court to allow a “hybrid representation” in which Sutton defends himself in court, along with his lawyer, Clint Broden of Dallas, KWTX reports.
KCENTV.com also has coverage of the motion.
Sutton is out of jail on bond and continuing to practice law, according to KWTX.
Sutton is charged with solicitation of capital murder. An August 2020 indictment accuses Sutton of plotting with now-deceased lawyer Chelsea Tijerina to kill Tijerina’s ex-husband, who is also lawyer. Tijerina died in a motorcycle accident in 2021.
The alleged target in the murder plot is lawyer Marcus Daniel Beaudin, who was charged with indecency in June 2021 for allegedly trying to fondle a teenage girl who is related to Sutton, according to KCENTV.com and coverage last year by the Waco Tribune-Herald.
Sutton maintains that he was entrapped in the murder plot by an undercover police officer who infiltrated his motorcycle club, the Red Mouse Cult. A defense motion in the case claims that the officer “pressed Seth to verbalize his fantasy of killing this sexual predator,” according to KWTX.
The motion says the undercover officer went “rogue” by continuing his investigation, despite orders to drop the probe.
A prosecution motion says the undercover officer received authorization to continue the investigation, however, after Sutton mentioned killing Beaudin. Sutton was arrested after giving the officer $300 at a bar following a discussion about obtaining an untraceable gun. Sutton maintains that he didn’t initiate the conversation about the firearm.
