Yella Beezy’s MO3 Trial Begins With Jury Selection

Yella Beezy‘s fight against a capital murder charge moved into jury selection Monday (October 26) in Dallas after a monthlong delay. He faces life in prison if convicted.

The rapper, whose legal name is Markies Conway, pleaded not guilty. He denied hiring Kewon White to kill MO3, the Dallas rapper born Melvin Noble.

Judge Chika Anyiam questioned a pool of 75 about media coverage and possible bias, FOX 4 reported.

White was convicted on September 4 and sentenced to life in prison. MO3 died on November 11, 2020, after White chased him on foot along Interstate 35E in Dallas and shot him with a rifle.

The case also brought a fight over how jurors should hear rap music. Prosecutors argued that lyrics helped show motive and intent.

The defense said the songs were creative work rather than accounts of real events. NBC DFW’s coverage of pretrial hearings described a detective pointing to songs as support for the state’s claim that the killing was a paid hit.

That detective also testified about an alleged feud between the two rappers and said White had appeared onstage with Yella Beezy at a concert before MO3 was killed. A third defendant, Devin Brown, was accused of helping arrange the shooting. NBC DFW reported that all three men initially pleaded not guilty.

Another part of the case involves someone Yella Beezy knew long before the trial: his childhood friend Jose Bodega.

As AllHipHop previously reported, the rapper, legally named Theodore Thomas, agreed to testify against him through a deal connected to a separate federal drug case.

At an October 6 hearing, defense expert Julianna Moore said Bodega had pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and agreed to help prosecutors. She also said prosecutors dismissed a gun charge against him, a point the defense could raise when questioning his account.

Both sides were expected to call witnesses who testified during White’s trial, according to FOX 4.

Jury selection was expected to take several days.