Kewon White, 27, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole following a jury verdict of capital murder. State District Judge Chika Anyiam imposed the sentence late Friday after the jury returned its decision. This penalty was the only option under Texas law because the Dallas County district attorney's office did not seek the death penalty.
The case involves the November 11, 2020, killing of Melvin Noble, also known as MO3, who was shot 13 times while stopped on Interstate 35 near the Dallas Zoo exit. Noble, 28, was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the ambush.
Prosecutors alleged that White was hired by rapper Yella Beezy, whose legal name is Conway, to carry out the killing over a long-standing dispute.
Evidence presented at trial included footage from a dashboard camera on a nearby Kroger delivery truck. The video showed Noble exiting his vehicle in the middle of the highway and being pursued by a masked gunman carrying an assault-style rifle. White was charged weeks after police released screenshots from that footage. Conway was indicted on a capital murder charge last year.
During closing arguments, defense attorneys Myra McIntosh and Bree West asked the jury to acquit White of capital murder. They suggested he might be guilty of murder, a lesser offense that would still allow for parole eligibility, but did not explicitly advocate for a murder conviction.
To secure a capital murder verdict, the state had to prove that Conway paid or promised payment for the killing.
