Police arrest three people in suspected gang attack that killed Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio

In June, police said gang wars spread to Tampa, and five people were charged with planning a coordinated attack between two Jacksonville gangs that left a well-known rapper dead.

Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw announced the arrest of three suspects – Isaiah Chance, Alicia Andrews and Sean Gathright – at a press conference at downtown police headquarters on Monday afternoon.

Davion Murphy and Rashad Murphy have also been charged with murder, although neither has been caught yet. Bercaw said the two men committed the murder along with Gathright by ambushing Jacksonville rapper Charles Jones — who uses the stage name Julio Foolio — in the early hours of June 23 as he arrived outside his hotel on McKinley Drive. The rapper was in town to celebrate his 26th birthday.

At the press conference, Bercaw presented footage from surveillance cameras in the area showing the three men following Jones, parking across from his hotel as his car pulled in, and attacking him with assault rifles and handguns. Although the driver of Jones’ car attempted to flee, the attackers pursued him and fired shots at the passenger seat where Jones was sitting.

Jones was fatally shot in the attack and three others were injured.

All five are charged with murder. Police said Chance and Andrews were involved in planning the attack, although they were not directly involved in the shooting.

Bercaw said police believe members of Jacksonville’s Ace’s Top Killers and the 1200 Out East Gang worked together in the killing. The two gangs are rivals of the Six Block Gang, which Bercaw said Jones was a member of.

“The city of Tampa is not the place you want to come to settle a dispute,” Bercaw said. “You will be charged, you will be arrested and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”

Tampa police are working with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to investigate the shooting. Bercaw said the investigation is ongoing.

“Today, three violent criminals are off our streets and in police custody,” said Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters. “These individuals have chosen a life of urban terrorists.”

This is a developing story. Stay tuned tampabay.com for updates.