After invoking the Fifth Amendment last week, Yella Beezy’s childhood friend has now admitted to lying during grand jury testimony that ultimately contributed to the rapper’s indictment in his murder-for-hire case.
On Monday (Nov. 2), during Day 4 of Yella Beezy’s murder-for-hire trial, the Dallas rapper’s longtime friend and music associate, Theodore Thomas, also known as rapper Jose Bodega, took the witness stand as a hostile witness under an immunity agreement. He was questioned about statements he made before a Dallas County grand jury in February 2025. Just days earlier, Thomas repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions.
This time, however, Thomas was questioned by both the prosecution and defense about the accuracy of his previous statements. According to WFAA (ABC8), prosecutors presented transcripts of his earlier grand jury testimony, which included claims about Beezy’s alleged involvement in Mo3’s murder. However, the 34-year-old rapper maintained that those statements were false.
“I told you I lied already, so asking me questions from a paper, it’s like you making me re-lie,” Thomas testified.
Prosecutors also questioned him about his previous claim that Kewon White, the gunman who killed Mo3, received $40,000 from Yella Beezy and Trapboy Freddie to carry out the killing.
“Y’all talked about the money, how much Kewon paid to do this, and your answer was supposedly $40,000? That was your answer,” the prosecutor asked.
“Yeah,” Thomas replied.
When asked whether he remembered telling the grand jury that the money came from Yella Beezy and Trapboy Freddie, Thomas admitted, “That was a lie.”
During his testimony, Thomas also explained that the possibility of facing federal prison time influenced him to provide false information to the grand jury.
“You learned that they were threatening you with RICO and VICAR and a life sentence, right?” defense attorneys asked during redirect, also suggesting that he made up details to qualify for the federal STEPS diversion program.
“Right,” Thomas confirmed.
Thomas further described Kewon White as an aggressive and unpredictable individual who was more concerned with establishing street credibility than following the rules within Beezy’s rap crew, Get Rich Cartel (GRC). He testified that he never witnessed White receiving any payment and maintained that he had no knowledge of the plan to kill Mo3 on Nov. 11, 2020. White was convicted of the late rapper’s murder and sentenced to life in prison in September.
The prosecutor later suggested that Thomas was changing his story not because his earlier testimony was false, but because of his lifelong friendship and loyalty to Yella Beezy. To support that argument, prosecutors presented photographs of the pair together during their high school years, at baby showers, and on private jet trips to Miami.
The judge subsequently gave jurors another instruction, reminding them that Thomas’ previous grand jury statements could only be considered when evaluating his credibility and could not be treated as direct evidence of Beezy’s guilt.
Yella Beezy’s trial is scheduled to continue tomorrow (Nov. 3) in Dallas.
Below is the full testimony from Theodore Thomas, also known as Jose Bodega, during Yella Beezy’s murder-for-hire trial.
