Defense Attorney Attacks Yella Beezy's Homicide Conviction Ahead Of Appeal
A Dallas jury convicted rapper Markies Conway — known as Yella Beezy — of capital murder for hiring the gunman who killed rival rapper MO3 on a Dallas interstate in 2020. His defense is now attacking the verdict, pointing to a witness who says he fabricated his testimony.
Case at a glance
- Yella Beezy — subject
Next: Toby Shook has said Conway intends to appeal the conviction, though no briefing schedule has been reported yet. Separately, Devin Brown — the third man charged in Noble's killing — is expected to face his own capital murder trial this month, according to the Dallas Observer, though no trial date had been published as of this writing.
The ambush on Interstate 35
On the morning of Nov. 11, 2020, Melvin Noble Jr. — the 28-year-old rapper known as MO3 — was driving on Interstate 35 in south Dallas, near the city's zoo, when a car pulled up alongside him.
A masked gunman got out holding an AK-47-style pistol. Noble jumped from his own vehicle and ran down the freeway; the gunman chased him, firing more than 40 rounds, according to prosecutor Tommy Adams.
Noble was shot multiple times and died at a hospital. A bystander in a separate car was also hit and survived.
The shooter, Kewon White, was convicted of capital murder in September 2026 and sentenced to life without parole. After his own trial, White said Conway never actually paid him for the killing.
Who's involved
Markies Conway, 35, performs as Yella Beezy, known for the 2017 single "That's on Me" and 2019's "Bacc at It Again" with Quavo and Gucci Mane.
Noble, who performed as MO3, had more than 800,000 Instagram followers and was known for a 2019 remix of "Errybody" and the double-platinum 2020 single "Broken Love."
Conway and Noble were both from Dallas's Oak Cliff neighborhood, and prosecutors say their rivalry — playing out in diss tracks and online arguments — stretched back to 2017. In October 2018, Conway himself was shot three times in a drive-by on a tollway in Lewisville; he reportedly identified Noble's bodyguard as the shooter, though no arrest was ever made in that case.
A third man, Devin Maurice Brown, is charged with capital murder in Noble's killing and is still awaiting trial. Conway's partner, D'Andrea Harris, who owns the hair-care brand Dhair Boutique, is raising the couple's son, identified in coverage only as MJ.
"This was for the world to see. Over a rap beef, we are here for capital murder," — Krystal Biggins, prosecutor
The conviction and the sentence
Conway was indicted in March 2025 — more than four years after the shooting — and remained free on bail through an 11-day trial in Dallas County.
On Nov. 11, 2026, exactly six years to the day after Noble's death, a Dallas County jury unanimously convicted Conway of capital murder. Under Texas law, that charge covers an intentional killing carried out for pay; prosecutors did not need to prove Conway pulled the trigger, only that he arranged and paid for Noble's death.
Judge Chika Anyiam sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole immediately after the verdict was read. Before he was taken into custody, Conway asked whether he could hug or kiss his son; the judge told him, "If they'll let you." No victim-impact statements were allowed during the proceeding.
Courtroom reporters said members of Noble's family wept in the gallery as the verdict was read. Lead prosecutor Tommy Adams later called the prosecution one of the most difficult cases his office had handled in years, according to Attack of the Fanboy.
A new booking photo taken as Conway entered the state prison system circulated online after the sentencing, according to the Dallas Observer.
What each side told the jury
In closing arguments, prosecutor Krystal Biggins played jurors a clip from an old interview in which Conway said, "I'ma get my lick back. I don't give a fuck. Ain't no walking away," according to the Dallas Observer. She then told the jury, "This was for the world to see. Over a rap beef, we are here for capital murder," according to CNN.
Defense attorney John Gussio argued at trial that prosecutors hadn't met their burden: "This is capital murder and the state has brought you a lot of speculation," he said, according to CNN.
Co-counsel Toby Shook focused his closing on a key prosecution witness, Theodore Thomas — also known as Jose Bodega, a childhood friend of Conway's — who had given investigators roughly 140 pages of testimony about the feud, then told the court he had falsified that account and pleaded the Fifth Amendment multiple times on the stand, according to the Dallas Observer. "We're not required to prove anything," Shook told jurors. "That burden, by law, always rests on the prosecution … The state says 'some kind of feud' started all this. We know they can't prove that … That's a reasonable doubt they can never overcome," according to the Dallas Observer.
After the verdict, Shook told the Dallas Morning News that Conway plans to appeal, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said in a statement, "For six years, Melvin Noble's family has lived with the devastating loss of their loved one. Today, on the anniversary of his death, we hope this verdict brings them some measure of peace," according to the Los Angeles Times.
Conway's partner, D'Andrea Harris, wrote online after the verdict: "My heart hurts so much for MJ because he's still trying to make sense of it all. But when I say he's blessed, I mean he has a village that loves him and won't miss a beat … The fight's not over. Head up. Chest out," according to the Dallas Observer.
What happens next
Toby Shook has said Conway intends to appeal the conviction, though no briefing schedule has been reported yet. Separately, Devin Brown — the third man charged in Noble's killing — is expected to face his own capital murder trial this month, according to the Dallas Observer, though no trial date had been published as of this writing.
How this plays in court
On appeal, Texas courts ask whether the evidence — bank records showing an alleged $40,000 payment, the viral interview clip, and the 2018 shooting history — was legally sufficient for a rational jury to convict, not whether the appellate panel would have voted the same way.
A recanting witness complicates a case but rarely unravels it on its own; defense lawyers typically argue either that the recantation shows the original testimony was unreliable, or that prosecutors knew or should have known that before relying on it.
Jurors are routinely instructed that they may believe part of a witness's testimony and disbelieve the rest, so Thomas's claim that he fabricated his account doesn't automatically erase a verdict if other evidence pointed the same direction.
Devin Brown's trial will turn on a separate jury weighing separate evidence; nothing from Conway's trial binds Brown's case, though both sides are likely to study how the Thomas testimony played here.
- CNN: Rapper Yella Beezy convicted of hiring gunman who fatally shot rapper MO3 on busy Dallas interstate
- voz.us: Rapper Yella Beezy sentenced to life in prison for ordering murder of rival MO3
- Attack of the Fanboy: Yella Beezy verdict in the MO3 murder trial: What we know
- Los Angeles Times: Dallas rapper Yella Beezy sentenced to life in prison for hiring hit man to kill MO3
- Dallas Observer: Dallas rapper Yella Beezy found guilty in capital murder trial