Dallas Jury Convicts Rapper Yella Beezy of Capital Murder in 2020 Killing of MO3; Life Without Parole

A Dallas County jury on Wednesday unanimously found rapper Yella Beezy, whose legal name is Markies Conway, guilty of capital murder for hiring the gunman who killed fellow Dallas rapper MO3 in a brazen daylight attack on a busy interstate in 2020, The Independent and The Washington Times reported. ^[4][5]

Conway was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, FOX 4 reported. ^[1] WFAA reported that the sentence is automatic in a capital case when the death penalty is not an option. ^[2]

The verdict came six years to the day after the shooting. MO3, whose name was Melvin Noble Jr., was 28 when he was gunned down on Interstate 35 near the Dallas Zoo on Nov. 11, 2020, according to WFAA. ^[2] FOX 4 reported that he was shot 11 times. ^[1]

How the Verdict Came Down

Jurors began deliberating at 9 a.m. Wednesday and reached a unanimous verdict around 2:30 p.m., after roughly six hours, according to FOX 4's courtroom coverage. ^[1] WFAA reported that the verdict came after 11 days of trial. ^[2]

Emotions ran high. FOX 4 reported that some people stormed out after the verdict was read while others wept, and that Conway was handcuffed and led away. ^[1] WFAA reported that relatives were crying in the gallery and that the judge thanked the audience for remaining respectful. Prosecutors said there were no victim impact statements. ^[2]

What Prosecutors Argued

Prosecutors told jurors that Conway put a bounty on Noble and paid the gunman, Kewon White, through a middleman, FOX 4 reported. ^[1] WFAA reported that prosecutors argued Conway paid White $40,000. ^[2] In closing, the state pointed to wire transfers, seized cash, phone records and testimony from a witness who said White bragged about the killing and demanded his money, according to FOX 4. ^[1] Prosecutor Tommy Adams also told jurors that Conway withdrew $40,000 in cash after returning to North Texas and that 15 calls between the middleman and White lined up with Conway's meetings. ^[1]

After the verdict, Adams credited the investigators and detectives who built the case. "I think that they got it right today," he said, according to FOX 4. ^[1]

White was convicted of capital murder in September and sentenced to life in prison, CBS News Texas reported. ^[3] A third man, Devin Brown, is also charged with capital murder and is still awaiting trial. ^[1][3]

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The Defense and the Appeal

Conway pleaded not guilty and denied any role in the killing. ^[1] His lawyers argued that the state's case rested on speculation, rap lyrics and investigators' tunnel vision, and that cellphone data placed Conway in Frisco rather than at a meeting prosecutors described, FOX 4 reported. ^[1] They said Conway routinely withdrew large amounts of cash for family expenses, and they pointed jurors toward Brown. ^[1]

CBS News Texas reported that one witness, testifying as a hostile witness, told jurors his earlier grand jury account of a $40,000 payment was made up, and said he had feared a federal life sentence. ^[3]

Defense attorney Toby Shook said he did not believe the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that an appeal is the next step, FOX 4 reported. ^[1]

What Comes Next

The case now heads to the appeals courts, and Brown's trial is still ahead. A man was hunted down and killed on a crowded Dallas highway in the middle of the day, and six years later a jury of his neighbors has held the man it found responsible to account. That is what justice under the law looks like. We pray for the Noble family, and for every family in our cities that has lost someone to this kind of violence.