Arlington

Tarrant County Rapper Tay-K 47 Sentenced to 55 Years in Prison

Arlington rapper headed to prison for murder and robbery

A Tarrant County jury sentenced 19-year-old Arlington rapper Taymor McIntyre to 55 years in prison Tuesday afternoon for murder and robbery.

McIntyre, also known as Tay-K 47, was found guilty Friday -- but not of the more serious charge of capital murder which would have carried a mandatory 40-year sentence.

McIntyre was accused of participating in a home invasion and robbery in Mansfield in July 2016. During the robbery, 21-year-old Ethan Walker was killed.

Tuesday, the jury sentenced him to 55 years in prison for murder, plus additional sentences of 30 years, 13 years and 13 years on the robbery charges since there were three victims.

Because he was a juvenile when the offenses were committed, McIntyre will be allowed to serve those sentences concurrently.

The jury began deliberating Thursday after emotional testimony from the victim's mother. The defense attorney didn't call a single witness. Closing arguments were Thursday afternoon and the jury was handed the case at about 3 p.m.

Roberta Walker, the victim's mother, testified she and her husband adopted Ethan Walker when he was seven years old.

She recalled the early morning when a police captain and chaplain knocked on her door.

"I knew it wasn't good," she said.

In the sentencing phase of the trial, prosecutors called a number of Tarrant County jail officers who testified McIntyre has been a troublemaker, throwing wet toilet paper, and making threats.

McIntyre was the focus of a nationwide manhunt when a juvenile court judge released him on home confinement and he cut off his ankle monitor and ran.

In the months he was on the lam, prosecutors say he killed a San Antonio photographer and robbed and beat an Arlington man in a park.

He also recorded a rap video called "The Race" that has been viewed 173 million times on YouTube. In the video, he waves a gun in front of a real-life wanted poster of himself. The video was released the same day he was captured in New Jersey.

Separate from the criminal case, the victims and their families filed lawsuits against McIntyre and his promoters arguing they should not be allowed to profit from crime.

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