Taymor McIntyre, the rapper better known as Tay-K, has been sentenced to 55 years in prison by a Tarrant County court jury in Fort Worth according to The Fort Worth Star Telegram. McIntyre was found guilty on July 19 of one count of murder in the death of Ethan Walker, and pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated robbery. For these convictions, Tay-K will serve 30 years in prison on one charge, and 13 years for the two others. The sentences will run concurrently.
The FADER's Ben Dandridge-Lemco was present in the court for the prosecution’s closing argument, delivered on Tuesday. The state referenced testimony from corrections officers who claimed that McIntyre had a phone in jail and had been disruptive. “We can’t control this guy," prosecutors said. "We can’t control him while he’s out on the street and we can’t control him in jail.” The jury was also shown a picture of a jailed Tay-K pointing his fingers like guns on the ground. “This is what he wants you to know about his character,” a prosecutor said while showing the picture.
Prosecutors also referenced Tay-K's music video for "The Race," the song which peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made Tay-K a rising figure in hip-hop. “I can’t stomach it," the prosecutor said. "It’s in the lyrics. There’s no better insight into this man’s character than that video."
Richard Walker, father of Ethan Walker, condemned Tay-K as "the person who profited off of this and saw this as a career move" He continued: “Every lyric to 'The Race' is stained with my son’s blood. Every ‘free Tay-K’ T-shirt that was ever sold has my son’s blood on it.”
Lawyers for Tay-K urged the jury to give the 19-year-old a shot at a future. "Do we just give up on him? Do we just throw him away in the back of a prison? That’s what people have been doing all his life. I’m suggesting we don’t do that.” The defense argued that there was “no principled reason why Taymor should get one more day” in prison than codefendant Megan Holt, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for capital murder and two charges of aggravated robbery.
Ethan Walker was shot during a home invasion in July 2016 involving Tay-K and six other individuals. Walker was shot and killed during the incident. Tay-K was arrested soon after, and was placed on house arrest. He and a codefendant named Jalen Bell both cut their ankle monitors and fled authorities, leading to a nationwide manhunt and the music video for "The Race," which was filmed as Tay-K evaded authorities.
Tay-K still faces a number of other charges for separate incidents allegedly committed while he was on the run. He has been charged with capital murder for the shooting death of 23-year-old Mark Anthony Saldivar, who was killed in the parking lot of a San Antonio Chick-Fil-A. He is also accused of attacking 65-year-old Skip Pepe in Arlington’s Cravens Park, and is charged with aggravated robbery.
