On Wednesday, rapper Yella Beezy was convicted of hiring the shooter responsible for the death of rapper MO3 during a shocking daytime assault on a crowded Dallas interstate in 2020.
The 35-year-old, whose real name is Markies Conway, received a unanimous capital murder verdict from a Dallas County jury in relation to the death of MO3, known offstage as Melvin Noble. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the chance of parole.
In a separate trial in September, Kewon White was found guilty of capital murder for the fatal shooting of Noble and was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors indicated that the murder stemmed from a long-standing feud that escalated over the years between Conway and Noble, both of whom resided in Dallas.
Lead prosecutor Tommy Adams expressed gratitude for the verdict, stating, “We don’t know what influenced the jurors… We believe they made the right decision today.”
He added that this case has been one of the most complex they’ve faced in the past six years.
Conway is recognized for his hit single from 2017, That’s On Me, and the 2019 collaboration Bacc At It Again featuring Quavo and Gucci Mane.
MO3 had amassed over 800,000 followers on Instagram and gained fame for his 2019 remix of Errybody alongside Baton Rouge rapper Boosie Badazz.
Speculations of revenge after prior shooting
On November 11, 2020, around noon, Noble, aged 28, was driving on Interstate 35 in south Dallas when White allegedly pulled up beside him and exited his vehicle brandishing a firearm.
According to officials, Noble exited his car and attempted to flee on the freeway while White opened fire.
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 mentioned that White was masked and fired over 40 rounds from an AK-47-style weapon while pursuing Noble.
During the incident, White shot both Noble and a bystander in a nearby vehicle, with the bystander surviving, but Noble succumbing to his injuries at a hospital.
Prosecutors alleged that Conway compensated White with $40,000 for the shooting.
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In their closing statements, prosecutors presented jurors with a video of Conway discussing revenge in an interview, where he expressed his intention to “get his lick back.” Prosecutor Krystal Biggins drew parallels between the murder of Noble and a shooting incident in 2018 that had injured Conway.
In October 2018, Conway endured a shooting while driving on a tollway in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, where an assailant pulled up next to him and opened fire, hitting him three times.
Biggins stated, “This was for everyone to witness. Over a rap feud, we are here discussing capital murder.”
The defense contended that the prosecution had failed to substantiate their claims. “This is capital murder, and the state has presented you with a great deal of conjecture,” defense attorney John Gussio remarked.