"Hellish onslaught": Rapper Julio Foolio’s death was a “calculated ambush,” prosecutors say

The murder trial of Julio Foolio, an American rapper who was gunned down on June 23, 2024, in a hotel parking lot in Tampa, Florida, by a rival gang, has officially begun.

Five suspects were arrested for their alleged involvement in the murder: Alicia Andrews, Isaiah Chance Jnr, Sean Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy.

Alicia Andrews is the first murder suspect to be tried. She is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On day one of trial, which officially began on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, prosecutors opined that while she wasn't a member of the gang that killed the late rapper, she was involved in planning the “hellish onslaught” and “a calculated ambush.”

The prosecutors brought receipts showing text messages proving that she planned her trip to Tampa, where the shooting took place. They added that her cell phone data revealed that she traveled with her boyfriend, Isaiah Chance, another murder suspect, “all the way down I-75 heading directly into Tampa.”

Allegedly, hours before the hotel shooting, Alicia left her rented Airbnb. Her phone data was later traced to near the hotel where Julio Foolio was killed.

The prosecutors described how the incident allegedly happened:

“They moved rapidly into their pre-planned positions, into their firing locations, and then they immediately unleashed a hellish onslaught, a precisely coordinated violence of action.”

They added:

“Sending a barrage, a wall of hot lead crashing into the only barriers between Charles Jones living and Charles Jones dying.”

More details on Julio Foolio’s murder

Rapper Julio Foolio, born Charles Andrew Jones II on June 21, 1998, was on his way to book a room in a Tampa Hotel when he was gunned down by individuals suspected to be in a rival gang. According to reports, the rapper had just celebrated his 26th birthday when he was killed in the hotel’s parking lot, which is situated across from the University of South Florida.

The Tampa Police Department said in a statement at the time:

“There are cameras here, and our officers are working to view all of the cameras and talk with people you know who might’ve seen anything or heard anything.”

Tom Hackney, a crime analyst, opined that Julio Foolio’s death was a result of a Jacksonville-based regional beef.

“After doing this for so long, I would tend to think this is more of a Jacksonville-based regional kind of beef between two groups, maybe took advantage of a foolish posting saying where he was.”

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