On Wednesday, rapper Yella Beezy was convicted of hiring the gunman responsible for the fatal shooting of rapper MO3 during a bold daytime assault on a crowded Dallas interstate in 2020.
Yella Beezy, 35, whose birth name is Markies Conway, was found guilty of capital murder by a Dallas County jury in connection with the death of MO3, whose real name was Melvin Noble. He received a life sentence in prison without the chance for parole.
In a separate case, Kewon White was found guilty of capital murder in September for killing Noble and was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors indicated that the murder stemmed from a prolonged feud between Conway and Noble, both of whom were residents of Dallas.
Lead prosecutor Tommy Adams expressed gratitude for the jury’s decision, stating, “We don’t know what swayed the jurors… We believe they reached the correct conclusion today.”
He added, “This has been one of the most difficult cases we’ve faced over the past six years.”
Conway gained popularity for his 2017 track That’s On Me and the 2019 collaboration Bacc At It Again featuring Quavo and Gucci Mane.
Noble amassed over 800,000 followers on Instagram and was well-known for his 2019 remix of Errybody alongside Boosie Badazz from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Speculation of revenge after previous shooting
On November 11, 2020, at approximately noon, Noble was driving on Interstate 35 in south Dallas when White allegedly pulled up next to him. According to authorities, White exited his vehicle brandishing a firearm.
Noble then exited his own car and attempted to flee on the freeway as White began shooting at him.
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 noted that White was masked and discharged over 40 rounds from an AK-47-style pistol while pursuing Noble.
According to police, White struck both Noble and a bystander in a nearby vehicle; the bystander survived, but Noble succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
Prosecutors claimed that Conway compensated White with $40,000 for orchestrating the shooting.
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During the closing statements, prosecutors presented jurors with a video clip of Conway expressing his desire for revenge in an interview, stating he would “get his lick back.” Prosecutor Krystal Biggins highlighted the parallels between Noble’s murder and a 2018 shooting that injured Conway.
In October 2018, Conway was shot while driving on a tollway in Lewisville, a Dallas suburb, when an assailant pulled up next to him and fired, hitting him three times.
“This was for everyone to witness,” Biggins remarked. “Because of a rap feud, we are here for capital murder.”
The defense contended that the prosecution failed to establish their case. “This is capital murder, and the state has presented you with a lot of conjecture,” defense attorney John Gussio argued.