4 suspects arrested in Florida rapper Foolio’s murder; police blame gang rivalry for the killing

Authorities in Florida announced this week the arrest of four suspects in connection with the murder of rapper Foolio last month. All three are charged with murder. One of the suspects is still at large.

The murder was sparked by an ongoing feud between rival gangs, Tampa police said in a statement Monday.

The Jacksonville rapper, whose real name is Charles Jones, was shot and killed in the parking lot of an Uptown Tampa hotel early on the morning of June 23. Police found two vehicles in the parking lot that had been shot at.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced on social media that there were three arrests on Saturday. The suspects were identified as Sean Gathright, 18, Alicia Andrews, 21, and Isaiah Chance Jr., 21.

Andrews and Chance are charged with first-degree intentional homicide with a firearm and conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide with a firearm, police said.

Gathright faces two counts of first-degree intentional murder with a firearm, three counts of attempted first-degree intentional murder with a firearm and tampering with evidence, police said.

“They are currently being held in the Duval County Detention Center on murder charges pending transfer to Tampa,” the sheriff’s office said.

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of suspect Rashad Murphy, 30. He was pursued to a Jacksonville apartment complex, where police and SWAT units forced him out after an hours-long standoff. Murphy was arrested for Jones’ murder.

According to police, the suspect who is still on the run is 27-year-old Davion Murphy, who is also accused of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.

On the day Jones was killed, Chance and Andrews tracked him and his entourage and followed him to two different locations, police said.

At each location, they got out of their vehicle and Chance used a cellphone, authorities said. After he used the phone, a second vehicle belonging to the suspect arrived at each location, police said. Both vehicles then followed Jones to the hotel, they said.

At the scene, a vehicle drove past the victims’ parked vehicles twice and then drove away, then three gunmen got out of a vehicle and began shooting at Jones’ vehicles, killing Jones and injuring three other people, police said.

Tampa police identified the suspects as Rashad Murphy, Sean Gathright and Davion Murphy.

The sheriff’s office documented Jones as a member of the 6 Block gang in Jacksonville. The gang is in cahoots with the ATK and 1200 gangs. Chance is an ATK member, Rashad Murphy is a 1200 member and Davion Murphy is a 1200 member, police said.

“The feud between 6 Block and its rival gangs ATK and 1200 has lasted for over a decade and includes dozens of murders on both sides and against both sides,” police said.

It was unclear on Monday afternoon whether the arrested suspects had hired a lawyer.

The case is not yet closed, said the sheriff’s office, which released a video of the arrest of the three suspects.

“There is no place to hide if you commit a crime in Jacksonville or any other city in the state of Florida,” Sheriff TK Walters said in a social media statement.

State Attorney Susan Lopez said at a press conference on Monday afternoon: “All five defendants face life in a Florida state prison, even those who did not pull the trigger. In Florida, you can be held responsible for a murder death if you were involved in planning a murder, and that is exactly what we want to do here.”

She continued, “It is clear that they all had one reason for coming to Tampa, and that was to kill.”

Lopez reminded the public of the emotional toll that murders place on the families of victims.

“His fans knew him as ‘Julio Foolio,’ but to his mother he is Charles. We are fighting for her justice,” she said.

Jones, 26, was celebrating his birthday the night he was killed, according to a video he posted to his Instagram story. He had 1 million followers on the platform. He shared a video promoting a pool party and urged his followers to direct message him for the address.

Later that evening, he posted that police had “locked them down and kicked them out” of their Airbnb accommodation.

His attorney, Lewis Fusco, had written in a statement that Jones had moved to a Holiday Inn, where he was allegedly ambushed in the parking lot. In April, when he announced the release of his latest album, “Resurrection,” Jones also posted that he had already survived “SEVERAL attempts to kill him.”

He has been making music since 2015.