The witnesses around Yella Beezy’s capital murder case are becoming a battle of their own. With jury selection approaching later this month, his defense is already scrutinizing what prosecutors may gain from a longtime friend and collaborator who has agreed to testify against him.
Theodore “Jose Bodega” Thomas entered a cooperation agreement connected to a separate federal drug case, according to AllHipHop. During an Oct. 6 hearing, defense expert Julianna Moore testified about the terms surrounding Thomas’ plea and the potential benefits attached to his cooperation. Thomas pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge, while a gun charge against him was dismissed. Moore described that outcome as a “huge benefit.”
Thomas’ connection to Beezy is more than incidental. The two have known each other for years, and Bodega appeared alongside Beezy and Trapboy Freddy on “Tool On Ya” from I’m My Brother’s Keeper. Now, prosecutors are expected to call him in the case accusing Beezy, born Markies Conway, of paying Kewon White to kill MO3 in 2020. Conway has pleaded not guilty and denied involvement.
The recent hearing offered an early look at how Beezy’s attorneys may approach Thomas once he reaches the witness stand. Moore testified that Thomas had faced federal sentencing exposure of up to 151 months before reaching his agreement and that a plea supplement included his cooperation in Beezy’s case. According to Baller Alert, Judge Chika Anyiam also stopped the defense from suggesting Thomas had been threatened with a RICO charge, instructing both sides to stick to facts supported by the record. Moore said no such allegation appeared in the plea materials she reviewed.
The stakes around cooperating testimony have grown since Kewon White’s separate trial. A Dallas County jury convicted White of capital murder on Sept. 4 in MO3’s killing, while prosecutors maintained that Beezy paid him $40,000 to carry out the shooting. Beezy’s attorneys later sought more time to review the record from White’s trial, and Judge Anyiam granted a continuance. KERA reported that prosecutors also wanted access to that transcript as both sides prepared for the next case.
Jury selection is now set for Oct. 26. By then, the defense will not be meeting Thomas’ cooperation agreement for the first time. They have already put its benefits under a microscope, signaling that when Bodega takes the stand, the jury may be asked to weigh not only what Beezy’s longtime friend says, but what was on the table when he agreed to say it.
