Yella Beezy's Childhood Friend Jose Bodega Has a Federal Deal and Agreed to Testify in MO3 Case, Court Hears

At a Dallas hearing Tuesday, a defense expert testified that Jose Bodega, Yella Beezy's childhood friend, took a federal drug plea and agreed to testify against him in the MO3 murder-for-hire case. Yella has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection is Oct. 26.

Yella Beezy's own circle might be part of the case against him.

At a hearing in Dallas on Tuesday, Oct. 6, the court heard that Theodore Thomas, the Dallas rapper known as Jose Bodega, took a federal plea deal and agreed to testify against Yella Beezy in the MO3 murder-for-hire case. AllHipHop describes Bodega as Yella's childhood friend. The two are on "Tool On Ya" from Yella Beezy and Trapboy Freddy's album I'm My Brother's Keeper.

The details came from Julianna Moore, a federal-system expert called by Yella's defense, according to live courtroom updates from journalist Bryson "Boom" Paul, which were picked up by Baller Alert and AllHipHop.

Moore testified that Bodega pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy count in a separate federal case and signed a cooperation agreement that covers Yella's case. She said his gun charge was dismissed and called the deal a "huge benefit" for him. Federal court records in USA v. Johnson et al. in the Northern District of Texas show a judge accepted Theodore Thomas's guilty plea in May 2025.

The defense tried to suggest Bodega had been threatened with a RICO charge. Judge Chika Anyiam sustained the prosecution's objections and told both sides to stick to the facts. Moore said no RICO allegation was in the plea paperwork she reviewed.

Bodega did not testify on Tuesday. That is expected at trial, where Yella's lawyers are clearly getting ready to ask jurors what he gets out of it.

Yella Beezy, legal name Markies Conway, is accused by Dallas County prosecutors of paying Kewon White to kill MO3 (Melvin Noble) on Interstate 35E in November 2020. He has pleaded not guilty and denies it. White was convicted of capital murder on Sept. 4 and sentenced to life without parole, and has since said publicly that Yella did not pay him.

Jury selection in Yella Beezy's trial is set for Oct. 26.

Would you trust a witness who got a deal?

Sources: AllHipHop (Nolan Strong, Oct 7, 2026); Baller Alert (Grace L., Oct 6, 2026); Bryson "Boom" Paul courtroom posts on X (Oct 6, 2026); USA v. Johnson et al., 3:23-cr-00235 (N.D. Tex.) docket via PacerMonitor; The R Report (Sep 16, 2026). Photos: Yella Beezy via Complex/WireImage (Prince Williams); Jose Bodega via Baller Alert.