HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – The trial of the four men accused of the murder of Jacksonville rapper Charles “Julio Foolio” Jones has reached its second week.
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Isaiah Chance, 23, Sean Gathright, 20, Rashad Murphy, 32, and Davion Murphy, 29, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in the fatal shooting death of Jones on June 23, 2024, in an ambush attack while he was celebrating his birthday.
Court documents said the attack was in retaliation for an ongoing Jacksonville gang war between 6Block and allied gangs, Ace’s Top Killers (ATK), and 1200.
In Oct. 2025, a jury found Alicia Andrews guilty of manslaughter for acting as a lookout and tracking Jones’ location before he was killed. She was set to be sentenced in Dec. 2025, but her attorneys filed an appeal saying Judge Michelle Sisco was biased and her conduct prevented them from having a fair trial.
Court records show that on Jan. 29, Judge Kimberly Fernandez was named the new judge, but a new sentencing date has not been set.
Prosecutors filed a motion to reverse the decision.
Day 7 - Witness says he talked with Rashad Murphy after the shooting
Robert Howard, also known as Kenny Caps, took the stand and talked about his connections to the people involved in the case. He said he had known Jones since they were kids, but he denied knowing Chance personally, but knew him as “Gutta.”
Howard said he went down to Tampa with Jones and described leaving a club and riding in another car toward the hotel complex where the shooting happened.
He said he heard gunshots and described what he witnessed during the shooting. He also talked with Rashad Murphy after the shooting.
Prosecutor: What did he say during the call itself?
Howard: He forgives me again. He forgives me. And where was I?
P: Did you understand where were you to be about? Or did he give you any kind of context when he said where were you?
RH: Where was I? I was around.
RH: Stuff like he seen me.
P: Where?
RH: Walking down the stairs of the club I guess. He said he seen me by the club. Seen me at the club.
P: Did he say what you were doing at the club when he saw you?
RH: He said I was paying attention.
P: Then did he make any statements about the Hotel2Suites? The homicide scene? The location?
RH: Yeah, he said that that was him in front of that car.
P: Did you have any idea what he was talking about?
RH: I kind of did yes ma’am.
During cross-examination, the defense questioned his credibility. They questioned the timing of his statements and why he waited to share this information while pointing to the federal charges he already faces.
Day 6 - Tampa police follow up with victims, Sean Gathright’s arrest
Tampa police who went to the scene and followed up with the victims testified about their findings. Detective Craig Griffin said he helped stop a gold Toyota 4Runner after receiving a tip that it may be connected to the murder.
The driver was identified as Sean Gathright. He complied with officers and exited the car. Police searched the car and found a Glock 9mm and a bag with loose ammunition, magazines and gun parts in the back seat.
A search warrant was obtained for a house linked to Chance, where Andrews was present.
Griffin said the evidence found in the car gave probable cause for Gathright’s arrest and he was taken into custody that day.
Noah Reilly, the medical examiner, took the stand and described all the gunshot wounds to Jones.
Day 5 - Defense says social media posts aren’t solid proof
JSO Gang Unit Detective Christopher Drabek returned to the stand and testified that Rashad Murphy was taken into custody by SWAT after a long standoff. Drabek said in his interview with Rashad Murphy, he initially denied key details like being in Tampa or booking the Airbnb, but he changed his story when they showed him evidence and cellphone records.
Drabek pointed out that Rashad Murphy switched hands when writing during the interview, which stood out to him because surveillance footage showed the gunman using his left hand.
Drabek also identified social media posts that he interpreted as celebrating Jones’ death and shared his findings with Tampa police.
The defense argued that the social media posts could mean different things and that Drabek couldn’t link one of the accounts to Rashad Murphy, suggesting that his findings were based on interpretation, rather than solid proof.
Day 4 - JSO detective says it’s uncertain who booked Airbnb
Detective Juan Ramos returned to the stand and identified a silver BMW linked to Isaiah Chance coming and going from a residence tied to the investigation. People associated with the investigation could be seen exiting the BMW, entering the home and unloading items into the car.
Ramos talked about how the evidence links Rashad Murphy and others to the homicide investigation. The defense questioned the weaknesses in the case, pointing to a lack of visual identification and no forensic confirmation.
Ramos acknowledged the holes in the investigation, including no search warrants for Rashad Murphy’s home and uncertainty about who booked the Airbnb.
Detective Christopher Drabek is in JSO’s gang unit and his role is to monitor gang activity on social media. He said they were aware of the planned birthday trip to Tampa. Drabek also said they recorded a Twitter Spaces argument between Jones and Chance, which showed ongoing tensions between the rival groups.
Day 3 - Defense questions JSO detective’s methods
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Detective Richard Needer returned to the stand and talked about how “drill rap videos” are often about disrespecting rival gangs, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they committed it.
The defense said that Jones had many enemies due to what he posted on social media and his gang ties. They also said that many shootings tied to the gang feuds remain unsolved, which weakens any direct link between the lyrics and real crimes.
Attorneys questioned Needer’s methods, emphasizing that his knowledge came from social media and interpretation, not firsthand involvement in the crimes.
Needer clarified that he did not alter lyrics and only corrected obvious transcription errors and used training and experience to interpret gang-related content.
Officer Jael Bahamundi said that he helped arrest Rashad Murphy using a license plate reader alert tied to a car connected to a felony in Tampa. He said Murphy got out of the car at a hotel in Tampa and ran on foot.
Detective Angela Carter said after Rashad Murphy’s arrest, she found a phone in the car that was running a maps app and had references to Jones, an AR-style rifle photo, ID images and an Airbnb booking.
Detective Taylor Kline said he tracked the defendants’ phones and surveillance footage showed a silver Chevrolet Cruze going through a McDonald’s drive-thru with an unconfirmed number of people inside, but there was at least two. Kline also admitted that cellphone location data isn’t exact and may contain errors.
Detective Juan Ramos took the stand and identified social media posts leading up to the night of his murder. Ramos also said they reviewed surveillance footage that mapped Jones’ movements and the suspects’ cars, which shows coordinated activity leading up to the shooting.
Day 2 - Victim describes girl’s trip gone wrong
Day two included continued statements from Alverson, victims, and witnesses.
Alverson said forensics found 31 9mm shell casings and projectile fragments linking the gunfire to three shooters and two vehicles, a Chevrolet Impala and a Chevrolet Cruze.
Investigators used a Tesla’s “Sentry Mode” and hotel surveillance footage to track the shooters’ movements and the concussive blast from a rifle fired by a third shooter was powerful enough to trigger a nearby car’s alarm.
Alverson said the Dodge Charger, which Jones was in, fled under fire before stopping with him in a defensive position inside.
He said there was property damage and bullet holes in occupied hotel rooms and bystander vehicles.
Two witnesses who knew Jones, but did not want to be identified, said they traveled to Tampa from Jacksonville for his birthday celebration.
Camilla Bentley, a shooting victim, said she was in Tampa for a girls’ trip and ended up at Airbnb parties and clubs with Jones’ group through a friend. She said that she was sitting in a car at the hotel when the gunfire went off. She escaped, but was shot in the right arm during the attack. Bentley also said she never saw the shooters.
Audra Agramente was a guest in the hotel that night with her husband and her daughter’s boyfriend while helping her daughter move into the University of South Florida. Agramente said they were awakened by the gunshots and a bullet struck their room window.
Other officers and witnesses testified, including Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office detectives involved with the 2019 murder investigation of Adrian Gaynor, 17, on Jacksonville’s Northside.
Day 1 - Opening Statements
The prosecution gave opening statements saying that Jones was killed in a targeted and coordinated ambush while celebrating his birthday in Tampa. The defendants are accused of stalking and following Jones and firing dozens of rounds into his car while he was trapped inside. The state previewed evidence for the jury, including surveillance footage, phone data and videos that prosecutors said show the defendants stalking the victim to coordinate their attack. After the shooting, the accused gunmen returned to a rented Airbnb and then split up to return to Jacksonville.
Chance’s defense attorney said the prosecution can’t prove that he was involved in the murder and they blamed Rashad Murphy for the plan.
Tampa Police Officer Brian Godcharles took the stand and said he responded to a shots-fired call at the Home 2 Suites and Holiday Inn complex to secure a large crime scene.
He said he saw a black Dodge Charger with bullet holes and identified a nearby Hyundai Sonata connected to witnesses.
Godcharles said he found pistol shell casings near a portico and found car debris consistent with a possible collision and confirmed bullet damage to hotel windows, which he said indicates that shots were fired toward both vehicles and the building.
Officer Zachary Conaway responded to the scene and said officers were briefed beforehand about potential threats involving Jones and rival groups. Officers also found two gunshot victims who needed immediate medical attention.
Detective David Alverson said they reviewed surveillance footage showing suspects fleeing a vehicle and entering the hotel. They also followed a blood trail from the car through the lobby up to the third floor, where more victims were found.