Tay-K has received his punishment for the 2017 shooting that left a photographer dead in San Antonio, Texas. The 24-year-old rapper was sentenced to 80 years in prison.
News 4 San Antonio reports the Arlington, Texas rapper was found guilty of murder earlier this week, and the jury delivered its sentencing on Tuesday (April 15). This trial was connected to the murder of Mark Anthony Saldivar, with whom the rapper connected with in 2017 for a photoshoot and attempted to rob at gunpoint, ultimately ending with him fatally shooting the photographer.
The #SantanaWorld (+) artist is currently jailed at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice until further notice. 80 years is on the higher end of what his sentencing was originally predicted to be, as he was initially told he could face between five and 99 years. Had he been convicted of capital murder, it would have been a life sentence without parole.
“I do realize that while this is a lot of time, you’re still alive. You can still better yourself,” District Court Judge Stephanie Boyd said, per KENS 5. “But the complainant in this case is deceased, and you need to internalize that the complainant in this case is deceased. You’re going to have to make changes.” The judge’s message was resonant, as this was Tay-K’s second murder trial in 6 years.
In 2019, he was sentenced to 55 years in prison for a murder that took place during a home invasion in 2016. The murder and his subsequent effort to evade the police inspired his 2017 hit record “The Race.” He was ordered to serve house arrest, but cut off his ankle monitor and fled from law enforcement ahead of his hearing for the 2016 murder.
His latest single, “The Race,” was part of his sole album #SantanaWorld (+), which was followed by the 2018 record “After You.” Since then, Tay-K has not released any official new music, given the ensuing years of litigation and trials. Listen below.
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