Tay-K Identified As Shooter By Ex-Girlfriend During Emotional Testimony In Murder Trial

Tay-K‘s former girlfriend has ID’d him as the shooter in the ongoing trial for the murder of Mark Saldivar.

Joanna Reyes, who was previously in a relationship with the controversial rapper, was herself accused of being the driver in the 2017 shooting, but has turned government witness and accepted a plea deal on the lesser charge of tampering with evidence.

During her testimony, Reyes described how she had set up a photoshoot for Tay-K (real name Taymor McIntyre) with Saldivar, with the three of them plus Jalen Bell and Jeremiah Rodriguez in one vehicle.

Reyes claimed that Tay-K pulled out a gun on Saldivar and demanded his backpack. The photographer refused, which is when the group allegedly began assaulting him.

The melee led to Saldivar climbing onto the hood of the car and, according to Reyes, Tay-K pointing the gun at her and ordering that she get him down.

Reyes then claimed that after she failed to do so, Tay-K leaned out of the car and shot Saldivar.

“He opened the door and leaned out on one leg,” she told jurors. “He shot him.”

Reyes then testified that she did not initially report the shooting out of fear for her safety and that Tay-K had threatened her and her family.

Tay-K, who rose to fame with the 2017 hit “The Race,” was previously convicted on a different murder charge relating to a 2016 home invasion.

In that case, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for aggravated robbery and given two additional 13-year sentences on two other counts of aggravated robbery. The sentences are being served concurrently.

The shooting of Saldivar happened while the rapper was on the run from police after cutting off his ankle monitor while being held on house arrest.

Tay-K previously asked for a second chance from the judge in a number of social media posts from behind bars.

“I really just need 1 chance @ adulthood,” he wrote in 2023. “I bet if I was a lil white kid they wouldn’t have gave me no 55 years for a crime I was alleged to play the most insignificant role in when I was 16….they woulda rightfully argued that my mind wasn’t fully developed and gave me rehabilitation and a 2nd (1st) chance at adulthood.”

He added: “one of my codefendants was a white girl who was 16 jus like me…they didn’t certify her as an adult but they certified me n pimp as adults, pimp got 30, I got 55, she ended up getting 10 years of probation without no deal…that girl @ home rn.”