Rapper Tay-K, best known for his hit 2017 track “The Race,” has been convicted of murder for the second time.
The 24-year-old, whose real name is Taymor McIntyre, was previously sentenced to 55 years behind bars in 2019 in connection to the murder of 21-year-old Ethan Walker during a botched home invasion.
Six years later, the California native is facing an additional 5 to 99 years in prison after being found guilty for fatally shooting a photographer while on the run from police for the initial killing, which took place in 2016.
Tay-K was placed on house arrest at the time and ordered to wear an ankle monitor.
Meanwhile, Latharian Merritt, the man accused of shooting Walker, was handed a life sentence for the killing.
While the jury found Tay-K guilty of murdering Mark Anthony Saldivar, in April 2017, they did not find him guilty of capital murder — which carries an automatic life sentence, News 4 San Antonio reports.
After removing his ankle monitor, the rapper escaped house arrest just before a court hearing related to his involvement in a 2016 home invasion, which took place when he was 16.
According to the arrest warrant relating to the second killing, the rapper acted as an accessory as part of a group who picked up the 23-year-old photographer San Antonio, Texas, for a photoshoot taking place nearby.
During the drive to a mall for the photoshoot, Saldivar was robbed at gunpoint for his camera and photo equipment, before being fatally shot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Tay-K was 17 years old at the time of the killing.
One of the rapper’s attorneys told jurors last week that police relied too heavily on statements from witnesses in the car during the investigation.
“Taymor McIntyre is not guilty of capital murder, murder, or manslaughter, and the reason for that is very simple,” Tay-K’s attorney John Hunter said in court, per KSAT. “You have to do it right. You have to do the work. And this case clearly demonstrates the work wasn’t done.”
The Post has reached out to Tay-K’s reps for comment.
At the time of the second murder, the rapper released his hit song “The Race.” Just hours after he released the video for the single on June 30, 2017, police arrested him in New Jersey.
The song’s music video has since amassed over 251 million views on YouTube.
The rapper was handed a 30-year prison sentence and a $5,000 fine on one count of aggravated robbery.
He was also given an additional 13 years in prison and a $3,000 fine for the remaining two counts of aggravated robbery relating to the botched home invasion in 2016.
Tay-K must serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
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