Tay-K, the Texas rapper born Taymor Travon McIntyre, was convicted of two separate murders committed when he was 16, cut off a court-ordered ankle monitor and spent three months as a fugitive during which he recorded the viral hit “The Race,” and is now serving concurrent Texas prison sentences of 55 and 80 years. What Tay-K did, in short: he helped organize a 2016 home invasion in Mansfield that killed 21-year-old Ethan Walker, and while on the run in 2017 he shot and killed 23-year-old San Antonio photographer Mark Anthony Saldivar during a robbery.
The 2016 Mansfield Home Invasion
On July 26, 2016, McIntyre and six other people forced their way into a Mansfield, Texas, home to rob 21-year-old Ethan Walker and another man, Zachary Beloate, of drugs and money. McIntyre was 16. Prosecutors said he helped plan the robbery and recruited several of the participants, including Latharian Merritt, Sean Robinson, and Jalen Bell. Merritt, carrying a .40-caliber Glock with an extended magazine, shot and killed Walker during the break-in. Beloate was shot too but survived.1Fox 5 NY. Rapper Tay-K Sentenced to 55 Years in Prison for Murder During 2016 North Texas Home Invasion
Trial testimony traced the plot back to Beloate’s girlfriend, a juvenile who proposed the robbery and pulled in Megan Holt, who contacted McIntyre for guns. McIntyre brought in Merritt, Bell, and Robinson. Accomplices later told police Merritt had bragged about being “trigger happy” as they planned the job.2Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Co-Defendants in Tay-K Home Invasion Case
McIntyre was arrested and, while waiting for a hearing on whether he would be tried as an adult, placed on house arrest with an ankle monitor.
Cutting Off the Ankle Monitor and Recording “The Race”
On March 27, 2017, McIntyre cut off the monitor and left the Dallas area. He posted on Twitter: “Fuck dis house arrest shit fuck 12 they gn hav 2 catch me on hood.”3XXL Magazine. Timeline of Tay-K’s Legal Troubles
He spent the next three months moving from Texas to San Antonio and eventually to New Jersey. During those months on the run he recorded “The Race.” The video, released on June 30, 2017, the same day he was arrested at an associate’s home in Elizabeth, New Jersey, showed him dancing with handguns and posing in front of his own wanted poster. The U.S. Marshals Service had declared him a “violent fugitive” four days earlier.4Rolling Stone. Tay-K Found Guilty5KSAT. Timeline: All Developments Ahead of Texas Rapper Tay-K’s Capital Murder Trial in Bexar County
“The Race” hit the Billboard charts within a month and passed 100 million YouTube views by December 2017. Prosecutors later played the video at his murder trial and used the lyrics as evidence against him.6The Guardian. Teen Rapper Tay-K Sentenced to 55 Years
The 2017 Killing of Mark Anthony Saldivar
While a fugitive, McIntyre lured 23-year-old photographer Mark Anthony Saldivar into a car on April 23, 2017, in San Antonio. Prosecutors said Saldivar thought he was being hired to shoot photos for the rapper. McIntyre’s ex-girlfriend, Joanna Reyes, was driving. At a red light near North Loop 410 and McCullough Avenue, McIntyre, in the front passenger seat, pulled a gun and demanded Saldivar’s backpack full of camera equipment.7San Antonio Express-News. Texas Rapper Tay-K Prison Sentence
Saldivar refused. A struggle broke out. Drivers in nearby vehicles testified they saw a front-seat passenger striking someone in the back seat, then saw Saldivar shoved out of the car. He climbed onto the hood, screaming for help and demanding his equipment back. Reyes testified that McIntyre opened the car door and shot Saldivar as he slid off the hood near a Chick-fil-A parking lot. She said co-defendant Jalen Bell then told McIntyre, “you caught your first body.”8KSAT. Key Witness Details Deadly Shooting on Day 5 of Taymor Tay-K McIntyre’s Capital Murder Trial
The Attack on Skip Pepe
About a month later, on May 25, 2017, McIntyre allegedly attacked 65-year-old Owney “Skip” Pepe at gunpoint in Cravens Park in Arlington, Texas. According to a civil suit later filed by Pepe and his wife, McIntyre held a gun to Pepe’s head, demanded his wallet, and beat him, leaving him with multiple broken bones and a brain bleed. McIntyre was charged with aggravated robbery for the attack. The final disposition of that criminal charge has not been publicly reported.9Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tay-K Sued Over Aggravated Robbery Attack
Jail Phone and Alleged Gang
His conduct behind bars added more charges. In July 2018, Tarrant County jail deputies found a cellphone and charger hidden in a sock in McIntyre’s underwear during a pat-down. He tried to destroy the phone in a toilet and fought a jailer during the attempt. Authorities said he had used the phone to post a photo of himself to Twitter captioned “Live From the Gates of Hell #FreeMe.” He was charged with a third-degree felony for possessing a prohibited item in a correctional facility and moved to solitary confinement, held 23 hours a day.10Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tay-K Felony Charge for Phone in Jail
Prosecutors later alleged in a court filing that McIntyre had tried to start a jail gang called the “Rug-Rats,” drafting a document titled “Laws of Power” with ranks, hand signals, entry requirements, and a rule against “hurting or slaughter of children, unless necessary.” The same filing listed 27 acts of misconduct and accused him of assaulting another inmate badly enough to send that person to the hospital.11Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tay-K Attempted to Form Gang in Jail
Convictions and Sentences
McIntyre was certified to stand trial as an adult and went to trial in Tarrant County in July 2019 for the Walker home invasion. He pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery but not guilty to murder and a third robbery count. His defense argued that he had not fired the fatal shot and that his role was limited to searching for drugs. The jury convicted him of murder rather than capital murder, which avoided an automatic life sentence. On July 23, 2019, he received 55 years for the murder, plus a 30-year term and two 13-year terms for the aggravated robberies, all running concurrently. He must serve more than 27 years before he is eligible for parole.6The Guardian. Teen Rapper Tay-K Sentenced to 55 Years12CBS News Texas. Jury Deliberating Fate of Rapper Tay-K in Murder Case
The Saldivar case took longer. McIntyre was indicted on capital murder in November 2019, but the Bexar County trial did not start until March 31, 2025. Because he was 16 at the time of the killing, a capital murder conviction would have brought an automatic life sentence rather than the death penalty.13KSAT. Taymor Tay-K McIntyre’s Capital Murder Trial Reaches Seventh Day
The state’s case rested largely on Joanna Reyes, who had originally been charged with capital murder herself and accepted a deal that reduced her charge to tampering with evidence and gave her 10 years of probation in exchange for testifying. She was the only witness to identify McIntyre as the shooter. Other bystanders described the struggle and gunshots but could not say who fired. Prosecutors also showed Chick-fil-A surveillance footage they said captured McIntyre leaning out of the car and shooting Saldivar.7San Antonio Express-News. Texas Rapper Tay-K Prison Sentence14News 4 San Antonio. Rapper Tay-K 47’s Fate in Jury’s Hands as Murder Trial Concludes
Defense attorney John Hunter called the investigation “lazy” and “faulty,” arguing that police leaned too heavily on people in the car who had reason to shift blame, that the surveillance video was too grainy to identify a shooter, and that witnesses gave inconsistent descriptions.15NBC DFW. Rapper Tay-K Convicted of Murder for Second Time in Texas
The jury found McIntyre not guilty of capital murder but convicted him of the lesser charge of murder. After about three and a half hours of deliberation on sentencing, jurors returned an 80-year term on April 15, 2025. State District Judge Stephanie Boyd ordered it to run concurrently with the 55-year Tarrant County sentence.13KSAT. Taymor Tay-K McIntyre’s Capital Murder Trial Reaches Seventh Day
Because the two terms run at the same time, the 80-year Saldivar sentence controls how long McIntyre stays in prison. He was 19 at his first sentencing and 24 at the second, and must serve at least 27 years before he can seek parole.16News 4 San Antonio. Tay-K Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison for the Murder of Photographer Mark Saldivar