Foolio Rapper Murder Case: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences

The Foolio rapper murder case ended with five convictions: four Jacksonville men were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the June 2024 ambush of Charles Jones II in a Tampa hotel parking lot, and a fifth defendant, the scout’s girlfriend, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years. Prosecutors proved that the group traveled from Jacksonville to Tampa with the specific purpose of finding and killing the 26-year-old rapper, who was in town celebrating his birthday.

What Happened the Night of the Shooting

Jones traveled to Tampa the weekend of June 22, 2024, and posted his plans and locations on Instagram, including pool parties and Airbnb gatherings.¹ Police were called to the Airbnb that evening and evicted the group for exceeding occupancy limits. Jones and his entourage relocated to the Home 2 Suites hotel at 11606 McKinley Drive, near the University of South Florida.²

Two vehicles carrying five people from rival Jacksonville factions had been tailing him. At about 4:38 a.m. on June 23, one of those vehicles drove past Jones’s parked cars twice. Three masked, heavily armed shooters got out and opened fire on his Dodge Charger with a handgun and two rifles. Surveillance video showed Jones trying to drive away before he died at the scene.³ Three other people were injured.⁴ The attackers fled to a rented Airbnb in Tampa, then split up and returned to Jacksonville.

The Five People Charged

Prosecutors identified the group as affiliates of two rival Jacksonville gangs, Ace’s Top Killers (ATK) and 1200, both longtime rivals of Jones’s 6 Block affiliation. Isaiah Chance and his girlfriend, Alicia Andrews, worked as scouts and tracked Jones’s movements throughout the night. Sean Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy were the gunmen.²

On July 27, 2024, roughly five weeks after the killing, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office SWAT team arrested Andrews, 21, Chance, 21, and Gathright, 18, in Jacksonville.⁴ Rashad Murphy, 30, was later caught after a foot chase in which officers used a Taser to stop him. Davion Murphy, 27, was taken into custody by SWAT following a lengthy standoff.¹

The Gang Feud Behind the Killing

The attack was the latest episode in a rivalry between 6 Block and the ATK and 1200 factions that had been running since at least 2017, and had played out through retaliatory shootings, social media taunts, and diss tracks openly mocking dead members on both sides.⁵ A June 2018 ambush on Town Center Parkway in Jacksonville killed three young men associated with ATK and wounded rapper Yungeen Ace.⁶ Yungeen Ace’s song “Who I Smoke” referenced the deaths of Foolio’s associates, and Foolio’s response, “When I See You,” mocked the three Town Center victims.⁷

How Investigators Proved the Case

The Tampa Police Department and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office worked jointly, building the case from cellphone location data, ride-share records, hotel surveillance, Tesla Sentry Mode footage from a nearby vehicle, and social media activity.¹ Andrews was linked to the Airbnb the group used as a staging base, and cellphone data extracted from one of the suspect vehicles confirmed her reservation.

At trial, prosecutors mapped the two suspect vehicles, a silver Chevrolet Cruze and a Chevrolet Impala, moving in coordination with Jones from location to location. Thirty-one 9mm shell casings and projectile fragments recovered from the scene were tied to three shooters and two vehicles. Text messages between defendants laid out their roles, and Rashad Murphy’s Instagram posts after the shooting referenced the “GOAT.” A witness identified as Robert Howard, known as Kenny Caps, testified that Rashad Murphy admitted his presence in a phone call, saying “that was him in front of that car.”⁸ Detectives testified to tattoos identifying Davion Murphy as a member of 1200 and to Chance’s documented ties to ATK.⁵

Verdicts and Sentences for the Four Co-Defendants

Chance, Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy were tried together in Hillsborough County beginning in April 2026, with Judge Michelle Sisco presiding. On May 15, 2026, after deliberations that began May 8, the jury found all four guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty; the jury recommended life without the possibility of parole.⁸

Sisco formally sentenced the four on June 22, 2026. Each received life without parole for the murder. Chance received a consecutive life sentence for conspiracy. Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy each received a consecutive life sentence for conspiracy plus three additional consecutive life sentences for three counts of attempted murder tied to the injured bystanders. Gathright received life without parole for the murder, plus 30 years for conspiracy and 30 years for each of three attempted murder counts, all consecutive.⁹

Several of the men addressed the court. Gathright, who was 18 at the time of the killing, said: “It is heartbreaking that an 18-year-old can’t rent a car, or a hotel, or buy a home, but can be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.” Chance said, “It ain’t worth it. Me being a rapper from my city and Julio being a rapper from our city, it ain’t worth it… when you’re sitting in your cell alone, cold, lonely as hell, everybody leave you.” Davion Murphy maintained his innocence but urged the “Gen Z generation” to “change your life and do something productive.” Rashad Murphy said, “I love everybody.”⁹

Alicia Andrews’s Separate Trial

Andrews was tried on her own and was the only defendant who did not face the death penalty. Prosecutors charged her with first-degree murder and conspiracy, arguing that although she did not fire a weapon, she used her cellphone and car to help the shooters track Jones and avoid detection.¹⁰ She testified that she thought the trip was meant for reconciliation with Chance and denied knowing about the plot.¹¹

In October 2025 a jury convicted her of the lesser charge of manslaughter.¹² Sentencing was delayed after her defense successfully appealed to have Judge Sisco removed from the case, alleging she had shown “overt hostility toward the defense,” interrupting counsel, refusing sidebars, prompting the prosecution during examinations, and laughing at defense attorneys.¹³ Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal ordered her removal, and Judge Kimberly Fernandez took over on January 29, 2026. After reviewing the defense’s arguments about trial errors, Fernandez said she “would not have ruled any differently” than Sisco and denied the request to overturn the conviction.¹¹ On May 22, 2026, Fernandez sentenced Andrews to 15 years in prison. Her defense said she plans to appeal the conviction again.¹⁰

The Feud Did Not End With the Convictions

In January 2025, seven-year-old Breon Allen Jr. was shot and killed in Jacksonville. According to arrest warrants, four men with alleged ties to 6 Block targeted the boy’s cousin, Lafayette Mango Jr., a documented ATK associate who had released a diss track aimed at Foolio and other 6 Block members after the rapper’s death.¹⁴ Investigators described the shooting as carried out “with the purpose to benefit, promote, and/or further the interests of the criminal gang.”¹⁵ At Foolio’s July 7, 2024 funeral, a viral video showed mourners, including a woman identified as his girlfriend, singing along to “When I See You,” the same track that had mocked the Town Center victims.⁷

1
Court TV. FL v. Isaiah Chance, Sean Gathright Et Al – Julio Foolio Murder Trial
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Fox 13 News. Timeline of Julio Foolio Deadly Shooting in Tampa
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Fox 13 News. Julio Foolio Murder – Four Men Sentenced to Life in Prison for Tampa Ambush
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City of Tampa. Three Arrested, Two Wanted in Connection With Murder of Charles Jones AKA Julio Foolio
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News4Jax. Closing Arguments Begin in Trial of 4 Men Accused in Murder of Jacksonville Rapper Julio Foolio
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News4Jax. Police Name 3 Killed by Gunfire on Town Center Parkway
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Vibe. Julio Foolio Family Raps Yungeen Ace Diss at Funeral
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News4Jax. Jury Recommends Life Sentence Without Parole for 4 Men Guilty in Killing of Jacksonville Rapper Julio Foolio
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Court TV. Killers Share Advice for Gen Z at Sentencing for Rapper’s Murder
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Fox 13 News. Julio Foolio Murder – Alicia Andrews Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
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Court TV. Alicia Andrews Sentenced in Murder of Julio Foolio
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Court TV. FL v. Alicia Andrews – Rapper Ambush Murder Trial
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Court TV. New Judge to Oversee Alicia Andrews Sentencing After Successful Appeal
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Jacksonville.com. Warrants Reveal Jacksonville Gang Ties to Julio Foolio in Child’s Death
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Action News Jax. Ongoing Gang War Is Tied to Shooting Death of Jacksonville 7-Year-Old According to Arrest Warrants