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A key defense witness in Yella Beezy's capital murder trial admitted to lying during his grand jury testimony.
The second week of the trial began on Monday, November 2, with the defense's witness, Theodore Thomas, who raps under the name "Jose Bodega." According to FOX 4, Thomas testified last week but invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. However, once prosecutor Tommy Adams questioned him Monday about statements he made about Yella Beezy and Mo3's alleged beef, Thomas said, "I made that up."
“I told you I lied already, so asking me questions from a paper, it’s like you making me re-lie,” Thomas testified.
Thomas, who's Yella Beezy's childhood friend, reportedly connected the Texas rapper to the shooting that killed Mo3 in the middle of Interstate 35 near the Dallas Zoo in 2020. Prosecutors argued Yella Beezy, born Markies Conways, hired Kewon White and Devin Brown to murder Mo3, born Melvin Noble, for $40,0000. In previous testimonies to detectives and a grand jury, Thomas reportedly said the money came from Yella Beezy and Trapboy Freddy. However, when the prosecutor pressed Thomas about his earlier statements about the money's source, Thomas replied, "That was a lie."
Adams suggested Thomas recanted due to his lifelong loyalty to Conway. He showed the court photos of Thomas and Conway together in school, at baby showers, and on private jets during Conway's music career. However, Thomas argued that he told investigators "what they wanted to hear" to save himself from further prosecution. At the time, he had already been detained for 18 months and faced up to 25 years on drug and firearm charges. He was also threatened with RICO and VICAR indictments carrying potential life sentences. After his testimony, Thomas was accepted into the federal STEPS diversion program, which would help release him from custody upon completion.
Conway was indicted last year on a capital murder charge. He pleaded not guilty. During his bond hearing last year, prosecutor Tommy Adams claimed there was a witness who would testify that Yella Beezy was allegedly involved in a conversation about paying White to carry out the murder. Adams also pointed to a $40,000 withdrawal the rapper made from his bank account several days after Noble was killed. Thomas was the witness Adams referred to at the time, but clearly he wasn't willing to cooperate anymore.
Watch Theodore Thomas' entire testimony below