Tay-K, née Taymor McIntyre, goes on trial over the killing of 23-year-old photographer Mark Anthony Saldivar in 2017. The case, heard in Texas’s Bexar County since April 1, 2025, reopened debate about the troubled past of the polarizing rap star and how he has influenced young people.
There was also a physical altercation between McIntyre and Saldivar on April 23, 2017, in San Antonio’s North Star Mall’s Chick-fil-A parking area. The altercation was over a stolen backpack with Saldivar’s camera gear, based on eyewitnesses. There was a commotion with witnesses claiming McIntyre forced Saldivar out of a black SUV after he confronted the group over stolen property.
With a last-ditch effort to recover his gear, Saldivar leaped onto the hood of the vehicle as it was moving. The occupant in the passenger seat—that was identified as McIntyre—fired one lethal bullet, and Saldivar fell to the ground as the vehicle sped away with its engine running.
A few witnesses, including a homeless woman who was in the area and a few passing motorists, recounted what happened, but none of them identified McIntyre as the gunman with absolute certainty. The defense also criticized the prosecution’s case as having been based on a questionable investigation and far too reliant on testimony by McIntyre’s associates who possibly had personal agendas.
Hunter also proposed that the shooting may have been in self-defense since Saldivar was reportedly stomping on the driver’s side window of the SUV prior to firing the fatal shot.
The case was heard in the 187th Court with Judge Stephanie Boyd. The jury selection was finally commenced on April 1 after years of delay with opening arguments adduced the very next day. The prosecution believes McIntyre was involved in a robbery gone wrong into a homicide, who makes him liable even if he didn’t pull the trigger. McIntyre chose to allow a jury to decide on punishment if convicted. McIntyre can face a lifetime sentence if convicted, which will follow on from what he’s currently serving, 55 years, on a different 2016 Mansfield, Texas, murder case after a home invasion resulted in 21-year-old Ethan Walker’s death.
McIntyre became popular in 2017 when he released the hit single The Race while on the run after escaping from police in connection with the 2016 homicide. The song, in which he glorified how he’d escaped from police, was an instant anthem among fans but created controversy over whether music romanticizes criminal activity.
His legal issues since have generated debate on issues of criminal justice, rap lyrics as evidence in court, as well as the role of artists in defining young people’s cultures.
Aside from the criminal proceedings, McIntyre also faces a wrongful death suit brought by Saldivar’s mother, Lucia “Lucy” Saldivar. The suit was brought in June 2018 and accused McIntyre of having willfully and intentionally perpetrated criminal homicide by shooting Saldivar while committing the armed robbery. The family is seeking over $1 million in damages.
