Tay-K Sentenced to 55 Years in Prison for Murder

Tay-K has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for his role in the 2016 murder of a young father during a home invasion robbery.

A jury in Tarrant County, Texas sentenced the 19-year-old rapper, whose real name is Taymor McIntyre, to 30 years in prison on one count of aggravated robbery and two 13-year prison sentences for the remaining two counts of aggravated robbery related to the home invasion, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The sentences will run concurrently.

On Friday, McIntyre was found guilty of murder and three counts of aggravated robbery in connection with the 2016 home invasion robbery in Tarrant County that left 21-year-old Ethan Walker dead and his roommate, Zachary Beloate, wounded.

Tay-K’s “The Race” made him a star when it hit the Billboard charts in 2017. But the song was also used against him in his murder case. According to The FADER, the lyrics and video were shown to the jury as potential evidence during his trial.

During the final witness’ testimony on Monday, the prosecution played the video for “The Race” and later distributed a print-out of the lyrics to the jury before admitting them as evidence. In addition to the video, prosecutors introduced screenshots of the video into evidence and images from Tay-K’s social media accounts, including the cover art for his 2017 EP Living Like Larry, where he is seen holding a gun.

In 2016, MacIntyre and a group of friends broke into Walker’s home. Walker was shot and killed by Latharian Merritt, who was sentenced to life in prison last year. MacIntyre, who was 16 when the murder occurred, was charged and placed on house arrest before fleeing. He was later certified to stand trial as an adult.

MacIntyre is also facing a separate capital murder charge for allegedly fatally shooting Mark Saldivar at a Chick-fil-A in San Antonio in April 2017.