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On Friday, July 19, rapper Tay-K, real name Taymor McIntyre, was found guilty of murder and robbery by a Tarrant County jury in Texas. The 19-year-old had pleaded guilty at the start of the trial of two counts of aggravated robbery by threats, but pleaded not guilty to capital murder and to an unrelated count of aggravated robbery.
After a jury of his peers deliberated for four hours, he was found guilty on all counts except for capital murder, which would’ve carried with a mandatory 40 year sentence according to NBC Dallas Fort-Worth, and will be sentenced at a later date between 5 and 99 years in prison.
Tay-K’s involvement in the the Mansfield, Texas home and invasion and robbery in July 2016, which left 21-year-old Ethan Walker dead, drew national attention. After a judge released him to home confinement, the rapper, who was 16 years old at the time, cut off his ankle monitor and ran. He tweeted out on March 26, 2017, “fuck dis house arrest shit fuck 12 they gn hav 2 catch me on hood,” and on June 30, 2017, released the music video for his song, “The Race,” which he recorded while on the lam.
Donald Glover Says Tay-K is a ‘Real Jesse James Story’
While speaking with The New Yorker in 2018, actor and rapper Donald Glover spoke about his hit FX series Atlanta, and the topic of Tay-K’s wild situation with the law was discussed. While discussing how a form of Atlanta rap was born in crack and weed dens known as “trap houses,” Glover felt both awe and compassion toward the young artist who he feels was barely given a chance considering his circumstances.
“Tay-K was sixteen and on the run for murder when he made this song [‘The Race’]. It’s a real Jesse James story.” The video for “The Race” now has over 173 million views, which is a song of his mixtape, Santana World.
“Look at this kid! He’s a baby! He never had a chance!” Glover continued. “Y’all are forgetting what rap is. Rap is ‘I don’t care what you think in society, wagging your finger at me for calling women ‘bitches’— when, for you to have two cars, I have to live in the projects.’ — “Young black kid in Texas with a murder on him…. He’s definitely going to die, and it’s sad.”
Tay-K was Accused of Another Murder and Robbery While On the Run
Not only did Tay-K release the video for “The Race,” after cutting off his ankle monitor, officials allege that he also shot and killed 23-year-old photographer, Mark Anthony Saldivar, after stealing his equipment, as reported by the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
On May 25, 2017, officials also alleged that the rapper and another teen robbed a 65-year-old man, Owney “Skip” Pepe, in Arlington Craven’s Park. After his manhunt was put in the national spotlight, the night he released the video for “The Race,” Tay-K was captured and arrested again on June 30, 2017, in Elizabethtown, New Jersey.
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