After two weeks of testimonies, Yella Beezy was found guilty of capital murder for Mo3’s killing.
On Wednesday (Nov. 11), after several hours of deliberation, a jury in Dallas, TX, returned a guilty verdict for Beezy for the November 2020 killing of late rapper Mo3 (real name Melvin Noble). Because the death penalty was off the table, Judge Chikya Anyiam immediately sentenced Beezy to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the verdict was read. Ironically, the verdict comes on the sixth anniversary of Mo3’s death on Nov. 11, 2020.
According to WFAA, lots of people were crying in the courtroom, including the rapper’s young son. The prosecutor also announced there will not be any victim impact statements.
“Thank you for remaining respectful [during this process],” the judge reportedly told the jurors.
Beezy, born Markies Conway, is accused of orchestrating the murder of Mo3, who was shot 11 times in Dallas on Nov. 11. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Prosecutors alleged that the 35-year-old rapper paid Kewon White to carry out the fatal shooting of Mo who he ambushed on Interstate 35 highway in broad daylight. White was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in September. Another defendant, Devin Brown, is scheduled to go on trial in November.
Yella Beezy’s trial started with Mo’s mother, Nicole Noble, recalling the tragic day she was informed that her son had been shot. The matriarch said she rushed to the hospital, where she waited hours before receiving the sad news that her son had died. Additionally, Noble testified that she urged authorities to investigate four people following her son’s death, including Beezy, fellow rapper Trapboy Freddy, and Mo3’s manager, Brandon Rainwater.
Prosecutors also presented dashcam footage capturing the incident, along with testimony from a retired medical examiner who performed Mo3’s autopsy. Other witnesses included two women who were on the highway when the shooting occurred, as well as one of the first responders who answered the call for the shooting. Another witness, Jocylynn Jackson, also testified that she was in a relationship with Mo3 when he was murdered.
Also, Justin O’Donnell, a Supervisor with the Dallas Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit, testified about the physical evidence gathered at the crime scene, including expensive jewelry and $17,960 in cash from Mo3’s bullet-riddled car that was scattered across the floorboards, which had been visibly damaged by gunfire. O’Donnell said investigators found no firearms inside the rapper’s vehicle.
On Day 3 of the trial, drama unfolded when Beezy’s longtime friend Theodore Thomas, aka rapper Jose Bodega, took the stand and repeatedly pleaded the Fifth. Prosecutors said Thomas previously answered grand jury questions, which led to the indictment of Beezy.
During his testimony, prosecutors questioned Thomas regarding a 140-page grand jury transcript, where he had allegedly answered questions about an ongoing feud involving Beezy, Mo3, and others. But on the witness stand, Thomas declined to answer any questions regarding Beezy’s rap crew, the Get Rich Cartel (GRC), and his whereabouts in California with Beezy in November of 2020 among other inquiries. Thomas answered every question with, “I’m going to plead the Fifth to that.”
However, on Day 4 of the trial, Thomas testified on the witness stand that he lied in his grand jury testimony, and claimed that he made up the Beezy and Mo3 feud. Thomas answered “right” every time he was asked if he fabricated something related to the case. Beezy’s attorney argued Thomas told authorities “what they wanted to hear” under threats of being hit with RICO and VICAR charges in his drug and firearms case.
Another childhood friend of Yella Beezy, Cedric Bradley, also testified against the rapper during the trial as part of a proffer agreement. He told the jury that Kewon White confessed to killing Mo3 and was angry that he did not get paid like he was promised. Bradley did not identify Beezy as the person responsible for the payment. However, prosecutors allege that Beezy provided $40,000 for the hit. The jury also watched an old VladTV interview where Beezy vowed retaliation after being shot in 2015. In that same interview, Beezy also denied knowing Mo3.
As for the defense, they called multiple witnesses to testify on behalf of Yella Beezy during the trial. Their first witness was Lynn M. Scott, a veteran marketing executive who worked closely with Beezy while at the rapper’s record label, Hitco Entertainment, in 2020. The executive testified that the rapper often withdrew large sums of money to cover recording and marketing expenses. Under cross-examination, prosecutor Tommy Adams asked Scott why she text messaged Beezy to “strategize” and “craft a response” before Mo3 was declared dead after he was shot on Nov. 11. She responded, “I’m a marketer, I thought he should be prepared.”
Other defense witnesses who testified included Beezy’s aunt and cousin, who described the rapper as generous, and said that he frequently handed out gifts and offered financial support.
Following prosecutors and the defense team’s eventful and surprising closing arguments on Tuesday (Nov. 10), Judge Chika Anyiam informed the jury that statements made before the grand jury were inadmissible as proof regarding the validity of the claims against Beezy. Shortly thereafter, jury deliberations officially commenced.
See video of the jury’s verdict announcement in Yella Beezy’s murder-for-hire trial below.
Watch the Verdict Announcement and Sentencing in Yella Beezy’s Murder-For-Hire Trial
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