Kewon White has been found guilty in the killing of Dallas rapper MO3, marking the first conviction in the 2020 murder case that has remained closely watched by the city’s hip-hop community.
A Dallas County jury convicted White of capital murder Friday after deliberating for slightly more than three hours. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors alleged White was the gunman who fatally shot MO3, whose legal name was Melvin Noble, during a daytime pursuit near Interstate 35E in Dallas.
According to the prosecution’s case, Noble abandoned his vehicle and White pursued him on foot before the rapper was shot and killed in November 2020.
The verdict came after both sides rested their cases Friday afternoon, sending the case to the jury for deliberation.
The murder sent shockwaves through Dallas’ hip-hop scene. MO3 had built a national following through his music and collaborations before his death, making the case one of the city’s most closely followed celebrity criminal proceedings.
White was the first of three defendants accused in Noble’s killing to stand trial.
Prosecutors have alleged the three men were involved in a broader murder-for-hire scheme targeting the rapper. White’s conviction is the first criminal judgment stemming from those allegations.
The guilty verdict does not resolve the cases involving the remaining defendants, who have yet to face trial. Their proceedings could provide additional details about prosecutors’ allegations surrounding the alleged plot and the events leading up to Noble’s death.
For White, Friday’s verdict ended the first trial connected to MO3’s killing with a life-without-parole sentence.
For MO3’s family, friends and fans, it marks the first courtroom judgment in a case that has remained in the spotlight since the rapper was killed in 2020.
