Is Tay-K still in prison or will he be free in 2024? It was explained why he went to prison

American rapper Tay-K got into numerous legal troubles and was eventually imprisoned on murder and robbery charges from a young age.

Taymor Travon McIntyre, aka Tay-K, is a 23-year-old American rapper who was born on June 16, 2000 in Long Beach, California.

As of this writing, Tay-K has nearly four million monthly listeners on Spotify thanks to hits like “The Race,” which catapulted him to fame when he rapped about running from the police before his trial and arriving in prison for capital murder.

Who is Tay-K?

Tay-K grew up surrounded by crime because his father, Kevin Beverly, spent most of his son’s childhood in prison. After his final release, the family moved to Arlington, Texas to make a fresh start after spending time in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The future rapper began his music career at the age of 14, around the time he dropped out of school when he was only in the ninth grade.

McIntyre got into trouble on Jan. 1, 2016, when a member of his rap group Daytona Boyz, Eric “Santana Sage” Johnson, shot and killed University of North Texas student Sara Mutschlechner while he was in a car.

Tay-K was not charged in the case, but Johnson was sentenced to 44 years in prison despite his innocence.

Why is Tay-K in jail?

Tay-K was among seven people arrested on capital murder charges in July 2016 for his role in the botched home invasion that led to the death of Ethan Walker in Mansfield, Texas (via New Jersey).

Megan Holt, 19, and Ariana Bharrat, 20, planned to seduce 17-year-old Zachary Beloate into letting Tay-K and several friends into their home to steal drugs and money. During the armed robbery, Beloate’s friend Walker was shot.

As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Tay-K pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery in the Mansfield case in July 2019 (via NBCDFW) and was ultimately found guilty by a jury of murder and one additional count of robbery.

The Fort Worth-Star Telegram later confirmed that on July 23, 2019, McIntyre was sentenced to 55 years for murder, 30 years for one count of robbery, and 26 years for two additional counts of robbery.

In the lead-up to his trial, Tay-K engaged in further criminal activity, cutting off his ankle monitor and escaping under house arrest in March 2017. NJ reported that on June 30, 2017, McIntyre was finally caught in New Jersey.

As My San Antonio reported, while on the run in April 2017, Tay-K allegedly shot and killed 23-year-old Mark Anthony Saldivar during a robbery outside a Chick-fil-A in Texas. McIntyre was ultimately charged with capital murder in November 2019, according to Bexar County.

The following month, in May 2017, McIntyre allegedly attacked and robbed 65-year-old Owney “Skip” Pepe in Arlington, Texas, holding a gun to his head before knocking him unconscious where a jogger found him.

Will Tay-K still be in prison in 2024?

Tay-K was sentenced at the age of 19 to 55 years in prison on a murder charge, a further 30 years on a robbery charge, and two further 13 years on further aggravated robbery charges.

Because these sentences will be served concurrently, he will be eligible for parole after 27.5 years, which will occur on January 23, 2047.

Tay-K wrote a letter to his fans from prison, which was published on Instagram, in which he talked about his time behind bars and the alleged unfairness of the trial.

In a letter (via American Songwriter) he told his fans that “(loves) and (misses)” all of them and noticed the strangeness of having them “I never had the chance to live outside as an adult.” because he was convicted at such a young age:

“I’m sitting here thinking about all my fans. I love you all and miss you all,” he wrote. “I know there are a lot of things I haven’t talked about directly, and there are a lot of things that my fans know, but I’m not sure everyone else knows. I’ve been here for 5.5 years now and I’m grateful to all of you for being so crazy about me. It’s still crazy to me that as an adult I never had the chance to live outside. I have been locked in the “justice system” and the CPS 4 system my entire life.”

He went on to say yes “he wasn’t even a shooter” in the murder that led to his 55-year sentence, after which he defended himself by claiming that he had “young and didn’t have any positive characters around him:”

“I’m not sure if you all know, but as an adult I was sentenced to 55 years in prison for a crime for which I wasn’t even the shooter. I wasn’t even accused of possessing a weapon. I was never even suspected of pulling the trigger or hurting anyone. I was young and didn’t have any positive figures around me.