Waco felon sentenced to 13 years in prison for selling drugs to undercover officers

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A two-time convicted felon who sold a total of 30 grams of cocaine to two undercover police officers on six occasions was sentenced to 13 years in prison Wednesday.

Christopher Lewis Marshall, 40, of Waco, was on trial in Waco's 19th State District Court on an enhanced, first-degree felony charge of delivery of a controlled substance when he decided mid-trial to accept a plea offer from prosecutors Vanessa Fuentes and Kristi DeCluitt.

Marshall faced a minimum of 15 years and up to a maximum of life in prison on the enhanced charge before the prosecutors waived the enhancement paragraph in the indictment, dropping the minimum to five years.

Marshall, who has felony convictions for tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance, must be given credit for serving at least a quarter of his sentence before he can seek parole.

Fuentes and DeCluitt were preparing to show the jury a video of Marshall selling 10 grams of cocaine to an undercover Waco police officer when Marshall and his attorney, Bryan Cantrell, worked out the plea agreement.

Marshall pleaded nolo contendere, or no contest, to the charge, which carries the same legal effect as a guilty plea.

"I enjoy working with the McLennan County DA's office, and I appreciated what they did for me as far as a plea offer for my client," Cantrell said. "It was more than fair. The defensive issues present in this case are looked upon very negatively by the higher courts. We did have some defensive issues, but I think my client was wise enough to accept the risk because he was looking at 15 to life in this case. But the state graciously offered us something less than that and a plea of nolo, so I think it was in the best interest of my client to accept it."

Marshall was on trial for selling cocaine to an undercover officer in the parking lot of a Waco hotel in June 2021. However, prosecutors were prepared to present evidence that he sold about $1,000 worth of cocaine to that officer and another undercover officer five other times beginning in October 2020.

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