Yella Beezy is asking a Dallas judge to put a limit on the number of potential witnesses prosecutors can bring into his upcoming murder-for-hire trial.
The rapper, whose real name is Markies Conway, has challenged a State of Texas witness list that now contains 264 names, arguing that the massive list does not give his defense enough clarity about who prosecutors actually intend to call.
Conway’s attorney, Toby Shook, filed a four-page motion Monday with the Dallas County Clerk asking Judge Chika Anyiam to order prosecutors to provide a narrowed, good-faith witness list.
The request comes less than two weeks before jury selection is scheduled to begin.
And the defense says time is becoming a serious issue.
Yella Beezy’s defense team wants prosecutors to significantly narrow the witness list ahead of his upcoming murder-for-hire trial in Dallas County.
Attorney Toby Shook filed the motion Monday, challenging a prosecution list that currently identifies 264 potential witnesses.
Prosecutors initially disclosed 194 potential witnesses in a July 27 filing.
That list included Brandon Rainwater, the manager of slain Dallas rapper Mo3, Conway’s girlfriend DeAndrea Harris, rappers Trapboy Freddy and Jose Bodega, as well as alleged co-conspirators Jerry Johnson, also known as Maserati, Devin Brown and Kewon White.
The State subsequently filed an amended witness list on August 3, adding another 70 names.
That brought the potential total to 264.
Shook argues that the expanded list does not provide the defense with meaningful notice about which individuals prosecutors actually plan to call during the trial.
According to the motion, the defense believes the disclosure functions more like an investigative file than a focused trial witness list.
That creates a practical problem for Conway’s legal team.
Investigating 264 potential witnesses would require substantial time and resources, particularly when some of those people may ultimately never appear in court.
The defense argues that prosecutors should identify the witnesses they genuinely intend to use so that Conway can adequately prepare for trial.
Shook is asking Judge Anyiam to order the State to provide a narrowed list by August 14.
The defense also wants prosecutors to separately identify potential rebuttal witnesses.
If the court grants the request, prosecutors would have to provide a more focused disclosure before the case reaches the jury.
Shook is additionally asking the judge to prevent undisclosed witnesses from testifying unless prosecutors can establish good cause for failing to identify them earlier and provide reasonable notice.
As of Monday afternoon, prosecutors Tommy Adams, Ricardo Vela and Sharonda Davis had not responded to the motion.
Judge Anyiam had also not ruled on the request.
Conway is facing a murder-for-hire case in Dallas County, with the prosecution preparing to present its case at trial.
The proceedings are connected to the killing of Dallas rapper Mo3, and several people associated with the case appear on the State’s witness list.
The prosecution’s potential witnesses include individuals from Conway’s personal and professional circles, as well as people prosecutors identify as alleged co-conspirators.
The witness-list dispute is separate from the question of whether Conway is ultimately guilty.
His defense is instead challenging the scope of the prosecution’s disclosure and arguing that the current list makes effective preparation more difficult.
The State’s decision to add 70 names in its August 3 amended filing is what pushed the list from 194 to 264 potential witnesses.
Now the defense wants the court to require prosecutors to distinguish between people they may call and those they are actually preparing to put on the stand.
Witness lists can be critical to trial preparation because defense attorneys need to know which people they may have to investigate, question or challenge in court.
A list containing 264 potential witnesses creates a dramatically larger pool for the defense to examine.
Shook argues that forcing his team to investigate every person on the list could consume limited resources while providing little certainty about who will actually testify.
The defense therefore says a narrower list is necessary for adequate preparation and a fair proceeding.
The judge’s decision could determine how much clarity Conway’s team receives before the case moves into its most consequential stage.
The case involves people from different parts of Conway’s world, including his girlfriend, figures connected to Mo3 and several rappers.
For the defense, the immediate concern is less about the number itself than what that number means in practice.
With trial approaching, every potential witness represents another person the legal team may need to investigate, prepare for and potentially confront in court.
The defense wants that process to be more focused before Conway’s case reaches a jury.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for August 21, with jury selection and the trial set to begin August 24 in Dallas County Criminal District Court No. 7.
For now, Yella Beezy’s request to shrink the 264-name witness list remains in Judge Anyiam’s hands.
