Rapper Tay-K: Music star convicted of murder after shooting photographer, 23, while on the run from separate murder

Tay-K, whose real name is Taymor McIntyre, faces up to life in prison for killing Mark Anthony Saldivar, who had asked the star if he could take pictures of him. A court heard McIntyre had already been been serving a 55-year sentence over a separate fatal shooting when, on the run, he murdered Mr Saldivar.

The musician rose to fame in the US and Canada with song The Race, released while on the run from police. It came 44th in the US Top 100 charts and has had more than 200 million views on YouTube.

The song includes violent references which are understood to be nods to the pursuit the 24-year-old celeb led officers after his first murder conviction. His second - which happened at a court in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday - concerned the shooting of Mr Saldivar.

Authorities said McIntyre had picked up Mr Saldivar in a car in San Antonio after the snapper asked him if he could take photos outside a restaurant. John Hunter, one of McIntyre’s attorneys, told jurors during closing arguments last week: "Taymor McIntyre is not guilty of capital murder, murder, or manslaughter, and the reason for that is very simple. You have to do it right. You have to do the work. And this case clearly demonstrates the work wasn’t done."

McIntyre’s attorneys had criticised the police investigation alleging the case relied too much on self-serving statements from witnesses in the car when the shooting happened. While the jury found McIntyre not guilty of capital murder, which would have meant a life sentence without the chance of parole, jurors convicted the young defendant of the lesser charge of murder.

He was found guilty of murder for the 2017 killing of Mr Saldivar by a jury in Bexas County, Texas. The incident occurred while Tay-K was on the run from authorities, having cut off his ankle monitor while under house arrest for an earlier murder charge. The killing of the 23-year-old photographer took place at the Chick-fil-A across from North Star Mall on April 23, 2017.