Yella Beezy convicted of arranging MO3's interstate murder
A Dallas County jury convicted Markies Conway, the rapper known as Yella Beezy, of capital murder for arranging and financing the 2020 killing of rapper MO3.
- Development
- 11 November 2026
- Coverage
- Verdict
- Current status
- Verdict returned
- Source record
- 4 verified sources
Dallas jury returns capital-murder verdict
A Dallas County jury unanimously convicted Markies Conway, the rapper known as Yella Beezy, of capital murder on November 11 for arranging and financing the killing of fellow Dallas rapper Melvin Noble, who performed as MO3. The verdict came exactly six years after Noble was fatally shot on Interstate 35E in Dallas.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said Conway, 35, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Texas law made the punishment automatic after the capital-murder conviction. Conway had pleaded not guilty and denied responsibility for the killing throughout the trial. [1] [2] [3]
Prosecutors said Conway financed the shooting
Prosecutors said Conway paid Kewon White $40,000 to kill Noble following an escalating dispute between the two musicians. According to the district attorney's account, Noble was driving on Interstate 35E at about noon on November 11, 2020, when White pulled alongside him. Noble left his vehicle and ran along the highway as the gunman pursued him.
Lead prosecutor Tommy Adams told jurors that White wore a mask and fired more than 40 rounds from an AK-47-style pistol. Noble, 28, was struck and later died at a hospital. A bystander in another vehicle was also wounded but survived. The prosecution's case treated Conway as criminally responsible for planning and funding the killing even though he did not fire the weapon. [1] [2]
Evidence traced the alleged murder-for-hire plan
The district attorney credited a multi-agency investigation involving Dallas police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the North Texas Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, the Mount Pleasant Police Department and federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Texas. An earlier Dallas County account of White's prosecution said investigators used surveillance footage, witness accounts, digital evidence, cellphone records, jail calls and financial records to identify White as the gunman and connect the shooting to a larger plan.
During Conway's trial, prosecutors also showed jurors video of Conway discussing revenge and argued that the killing followed a years-long feud. Prosecutor Krystal Biggins compared Noble's death with a 2018 roadway shooting in Lewisville in which Conway was wounded. The state argued that the interstate ambush was retaliation carried out publicly. [1] [2] [4]
Defense called the case speculative
Defense attorney John Gussio argued that the state had not proved Conway arranged Noble's death and described the prosecution's theory as speculation. The defense disputed the inferences prosecutors drew from the relationship between the two rappers and from the evidence tying White to the shooting. The jury rejected that argument and returned a guilty verdict after more than two weeks of testimony.
The verdict establishes Conway's criminal liability for Noble's death; it does not change the separate status of the other defendants. White was convicted of capital murder in September 2026 and also received life without parole. Dallas County records have identified Devin Brown as another defendant accused in the alleged murder-for-hire plan. He has not been convicted in connection with Noble's killing and remains entitled to the presumption of innocence. [2] [3] [4]
Two life sentences in the MO3 case
Conway and White are now serving life sentences without parole for their roles in the same killing. The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said the November 11 verdict followed six years of investigative work and thanked Noble's family for continuing to work with prosecutors.
The case number listed by Dallas County for Conway is F2500154. The conviction concludes Conway's trial and removes the earlier active-trial report from Court Watch. Any proceedings involving other defendants will require separate verification before being treated as an active murder trial. [1] [3] [4]
Sources & further reading
- Dallas Rapper Yella Beezy Convicted of Capital Murder in 2020 Murder-for-Hire Killing of MO3 ↗Dallas County District Attorney's Office · 2026-11-11 · Primary source
- Rapper Yella Beezy convicted of hiring gunman who fatally shot rapper MO3 on busy Dallas interstate ↗Associated Press · 2026-11-11
- Jury finds Yella Beezy guilty in the murder of Dallas rapper MO3 ↗NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth · 2026-11-11
- The Justice Journal: Vol. 82 ↗Dallas County District Attorney's Office · 2026-09-17 · Primary source
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