On Wednesday, rapper Yella Beezy was convicted of hiring the shooter responsible for the fatal attack on rapper MO3 during a bold daylight shooting on a crowded Dallas highway in 2020.
Yella Beezy, 35, whose birth name is Markies Conway, received a unanimous capital murder verdict from a jury in Dallas County regarding the death of MO3, known in real life as Melvin Noble. He was given a life sentence without the chance of parole.
In a separate case in September, Kewon White was also found guilty of capital murder for killing Noble and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors indicated that the murder stemmed from a long-standing and intensifying feud between Conway and Noble, both of whom resided in Dallas.
“We’re unsure what swayed the jurors… We value the verdict,” lead prosecutor Tommy Adams stated to the media. “We believe they made the right decision today.”
Adams noted, “This has been one of the most difficult cases we’ve handled over the past six years.”
Conway gained fame with his 2017 hit That’s On Me, and the 2019 track Bacc At It Again featuring Quavo and Gucci Mane.
Noble boasted over 800,000 followers on Instagram and rose to prominence with a 2019 remix of Errybody alongside Baton Rouge rapper Boosie Badazz.
Revenge theory emerged after prior shooting
On November 11, 2020, around noon, Noble, 28, was driving on Interstate 35 in south Dallas when White allegedly pulled up next to him and exited his vehicle while armed.
As Noble exited his car and attempted to flee down the freeway, White opened fire, according to authorities.
MO3 is shown at a BET Awards event in Los Angeles on June 23, 2018, just over two years before he was shot. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for BET)
Adams reported that White, wearing a mask, discharged over 40 rounds from an AK-47-style handgun while pursuing Noble.
During the shooting, White struck Noble and a bystander in a vehicle; the bystander survived, but Noble succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Prosecutors alleged that Conway provided White with $40,000 for the hit.
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During the closing arguments, prosecutors presented jurors with a video of Conway discussing revenge in an interview, where he stated he would “get his lick back.” Prosecutor Krystal Biggins highlighted the parallels between the murder of Noble and a shooting incident that injured Conway in 2018.
In October 2018, Conway survived a shooting while driving on a tollway in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville when an assailant fired at him, hitting him three times.
“This was meant to be seen by the public,” Biggins remarked. “Due to a rap feud, we find ourselves here for capital murder.”
The defense contended that the prosecution failed to establish its case. “This is capital murder, and the state has presented you with mere speculation,” defense attorney John Gussio stated.