Tay-K, the Texas rapper best known for his 2017 song The Race, was found guilty of murder Monday in a San Antonio courtroom. A Bexar County jury reached the verdict after eight hours of deliberation, convicting the 23-year-old of killing Mark Anthony Saldivar in a Chick-fil-A parking lot in April 2017.
While Tay-K was found guilty of murder, he was acquitted of capital murder, a more severe charge that would have carried an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors alleged that Tay-K and a group of friends lured Saldivar, a 23-year-old photographer, under the pretense of taking promotional photos. According to testimony, things quickly escalated inside a vehicle, where Saldivar was reportedly shot during what prosecutors described as a robbery attempt.
Witnesses testified to seeing a man being pushed from a black car near Loop 410 and McCullough Avenue. Security footage later showed Saldivar clinging to the car before collapsing in a Chick-fil-A parking lot, while the vehicle sped off.
However, no witness could positively identify Tay-K as the shooter. The prosecution leaned on testimony from the car’s driver, Joanna Reyes, who claimed McIntyre was the front seat passenger and the person who fired the fatal shot. Reyes was offered a plea deal in exchange for her cooperation, now facing a lesser charge of tampering with evidence.
Tay-K’s defense attorney, John Hunter, challenged the state’s case throughout the trial. He described the investigation as “lazy” and “flawed,” arguing that police relied too heavily on statements from individuals looking to protect themselves. He also questioned whether a robbery had occurred at all, noting that no camera or backpack—items supposedly taken from Saldivar—were recovered.
Tay-K is no stranger to legal trouble. He’s currently serving a 55-year sentence related to a 2016 home invasion in Tarrant County that left 21-year-old Ethan Walker dead. This new murder conviction could significantly extend his time behind bars, depending on how the judge rules during sentencing.
