Taymor Travon McIntyre, the 24-year-old Texas rapper known by his stage name Tay-K, has been convicted of murder for a second time, nearly eight years after the fatal shooting of a San Antonio man.
Prosecutors in the case allege that the shooting took place after a botched robbery attempt disguised as a photo shoot.
A Bexar County jury returned a guilty verdict on Monday in the 2017 killing of 23-year-old Mark Anthony Saldivar, a local photographer. The verdict comes as McIntyre is already serving another 55-year sentence for a separate murder conviction in connection with a 2016 home invasion in Mansfield, Texas.
Prosecutors said McIntyre lured Saldivar under the pretense of a professional shoot to promote a new song, only to try to rob him inside a vehicle. Testimony from the case shows that the confrontation escalated, and McIntyre fatally shot Saldivar as the photographer tried to run away, per AP News.
The trial’s outcome weighed heavily in part on the testimony of witnesses who were present in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
McIntyre’s defense team criticized the investigation, arguing that it leaned too heavily on “self-interested” accounts and failed to fully explore alternative explanations.
“Taymor McIntyre is not guilty of capital murder, murder, or manslaughter, and the reason for that is very simple,” said John Hunter, McIntyre’s defense attorney, during closing arguments. “You have to do it right. You have to do the work. And this case clearly demonstrates the work wasn’t done,” Hunter added.
While the jury rejected the most serious charge of capital murder, which would have led to an automatic sentence of life without parole, they still found McIntyre guilty of murder. Therefore, McIntyre still faces up to life in prison with the possibility of parole, depending on the upcoming sentencing.
McIntyre rose to viral notoriety in 2017 with his hit song “The Race,” recorded and released while he was evading arrest in the Mansfield, Texas murder.
The song, which heavily mentions how McIntyre planned to run from the police after the murder, gained traction online and even charted on Billboard, turning the teenager into a symbol of both youth rebellion and controversy.
Police soon arrested Mcintyre after the video went viral, and he cut off his ankle monitor.
Needless to say, Mcintyre will not be putting out any more official music anytime soon, as he sits in Bexar County Jail after this second murder conviction.