Sean Robinson, a co-defendant in Tay-K’s murder case, has pleaded guilty for his role in the 2016 fatal shooting of Ethan Walker. The plea was reported by Star-Telegram on Thursday, as Tay-K and one of his other accomplices await trial.
Robinson, who was initially charged with capital murder, pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for a 40-year prison sentence. The Star-Telegram reports Robinson will be eligible for parole after he serves the first 18 years of his proposed sentence.
“It’s one more down and a couple to still go,” said Richard Walker, the father of Ethan Walker. “This was just about wasted lives. The wasted lives of everyone involved. [Robinson will] still be here when his time is served, but Ethan won’t.”
On July 26, 2016, Tay-K and six other individuals allegedly carried out a home invasion that resulted in the deadly shooting of Ethan Walker. The suspected gunman Latharian Merritt was convicted of capital murder back in May, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Suspects Megan Holt and Ariana Bharrat have also agreed to testify against their co-defendants in exchange for waived capital murder charges. If the women truthfully testify, they can plead guilty to aggravated robbery.
Tay-K, who is also accused in the 2017 fatal shooting of Mark Anthony Saldivar, was hit with another felony charge earlier this month, when he was caught hiding a phone inside his prison cell.
"They asked him to remove it That’s when he attempted to throw it in to the toilet to destroy the phone,” David McClelland, Chief of Staff for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, said. “When they tried to take the phone away from him, he got a little angry and got into an altercation with one of our jailers."
