Rapper Yella Beezy convicted of capital murder in MO3 killing

DALLAS — A Dallas County jury found rapper Yella Beezy guilty of capital murder Wednesday in the killing of fellow rapper MO3, accepting prosecutors’ argument that he paid to have his rival killed on a Dallas interstate six years ago. Yella Beezy, whose legal name is Markies Conway, received an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of Melvin Noble, who was known as MO3. Jurors deliberated for about four hours Wednesday after about two weeks of testimony. Conway, who had been free on bail, was handcuffed shortly after the verdict was read. Prosecutors argued that a yearslong, violent feud between the two led Conway, now 35, to pay a gunman through an intermediary to kill Noble. The defense countered by saying the evidence presented failed to establish Conway’s involvement beyond a reasonable doubt, the legal threshold to convict. “Sure, one of these things alone, may be a coincidence,” prosecutor Tommy Adams told jurors of a feud that began in 2017. “This isn’t a coincidence. This is a coordinated event to kill Melvin Noble.” The case hinged on how the jury views the mostly circumstantial evidence presented by prosecutors, who tried to prove that Conway paid or promised to pay for Noble’s killing. Before breaking for lunch, jurors sent the judge a note asking to review exhibits from the trial, including investigative reports, transcripts of all text messages, bank records and the gunman's search history. They also asked for a MO3 Instagram live video and the lyric transcripts for two of Conway’s songs that prosecutors said chronicled his feud with Noble. The gunman, 27-year-old Kewon White, was convicted of capital murder in September. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Conway is accused of using two other men to figure out Noble’s location and to give White the money for the killing. Both men, Devin Brown and Jerry Johnson, are also charged in connection with Noble’s death. Video footage showed White chasing and repeatedly shooting Noble on Interstate 35E during the day Nov. 11, 2020. Noble was struck 13 times. -------------