American rapper Tay-K has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for the deadly 2017 shooting of photographer Mark Anthony Saldivar in Texas.
Taymor McIntyre, known as Tay-K 47, was found guilty earlier this week. A jury in Bexar County, Texas, pronounced the sentence on Tuesday after several hours of testimony during the punishment phase of the trial.
Currently incarcerated at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Tay-K will remain in custody until further notice. Although he was facing a potential life sentence with the possibility of parole, the judge ultimately assigned an 80-year term.
“I do realize that while this is a lot of time, you’re still alive. You can still better yourself,” said 187th District Court Judge Stephanie Boyd, addressing Tay-K directly. “But the complainant in this case is deceased, and you need to internalize that. You’re going to have to make changes.”
The sentencing follows Tay-K’s conviction on Monday for the murder of Saldivar, who was fatally shot after the rapper allegedly stole his photography equipment. At 16 years old at the time of the incident, Tay-K was initially charged with capital murder, which the judge later reduced to a lesser murder charge.
Defense attorneys criticized the police investigation, asserting that the case relied heavily on “self-serving” testimonies from witnesses present in the car during the shooting.
“Taymor McIntyre is not guilty of capital murder, murder, or manslaughter,” argued his lawyer, John Hunter, during closing statements. “You have to do it right. You have to do the work. And this case clearly demonstrates the work wasn’t done.”
Tay-K is not new to legal troubles; he was previously convicted in 2019 for the 2016 shooting death of 21-year-old Ethan Walker and received a 55-year prison sentence for that case.
His breakout hit, “The Race,” has garnered over 416 million streams on Spotify and was notably recorded while he was on the run after the shooting.
