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Demarcus Williams, 22, of Port Arthur pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated robbery, Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham announced Tuesday.

Judge John B. Stevens Jr. sentenced Williams pursuant to a plea agreement reached with the State.

Williams was sentenced to life in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for murder and 20 years for aggravated robbery. Williams was originally indicted for capital murder. As part of the plea agreement, Williams pleaded guilty to the lesser-included offense of murder.

He must serve at least 30 years of his life sentence before being eligible for parole.

On Sept. 18, 2018, officers with the Beaumont Police Department were dispatched to Tinsel Town Movie Theater in response to an aggravated robbery. Officers on scene spoke with the victim, a 34-year-old woman and her 14-year-old son, who witnessed the robbery. They told officers they were walking to their vehicle when a Kia Sportage SUV occupied by two men pulled into the parking spot next to their vehicle.

The driver of the Kia, later identified as Williams, quickly got out of the vehicle and approached the woman. He brandished a machete-style knife and violently assaulted the victim as he took her purse.

On May 24, 2019, officers with the Beaumont Police Department were dispatched to 2155 N 11th Street in reference to a shooting. When officers arrived, they observed a deceased, 27-year-old male in the parking lot of Days Inn.

Detectives arrived on scene and viewed surveillance video from the motel. The video showed Williams riding a bicycle around the parking lot. Soon thereafter, the victim exited his motel room and walked to his vehicle in the parking lot.

Williams approached the victim, who was seated in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and pointed a gun at the victim. The victim exited the vehicle, and Williams shot the victim two times, striking him in the head and back. Williams then drove off in the victim’s vehicle.

The cases were investigated by the Beaumont Police Department and were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Mike Laird.

At the time of the murder, Williams had a warrant out for his arrest for the aggravated robbery. Williams was also on probation for uUnauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest with a motor vehicle out of Ennis County.