TAMPA, Fla. – Three people have been arrested and accused in the shooting death of Charles Jones, a Jacksonville rapper known as “Julio Foolio.”
Jones, 26, was shot and killed in June in an ambush attack while celebrating his birthday in Tampa.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw, Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez and Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced the arrests Monday afternoon and said there are also warrants out for two other people believed to have been triggermen.
All five suspects, who are from Jacksonville, are accused of premeditated first-degree murder among other charges.
Isaiah Chance, 21, Alicia Andrews, 21, and Sean Gathright were arrested over the weekend in Jacksonville.
Police said Chance and Andrews tracked and followed Jones and his entourage to two locations. At each location, the two got out of their vehicle and Chance used a cell phone, police said. After the cell phone communication, a second suspect vehicle arrived at each location. Both vehicles then followed Jones and his entourage to a hotel located on McKinley Drive, where the murder happened.
Police said that Gathright, 18, along with two other outstanding suspects, Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy, fired shots at Jones that night.
All of the people involved in the shooting are affiliated with Jacksonville gangs ATK and 1200 which are rival gangs to 6 Block, the gang Jones had connections to, according to police. The feud between 6 Block and its rival gangs ATK and 1200 has spanned over a decade with dozens of murders by and against both sides, officials said.
“Detectives believe that the ATK and the 1200 worked together to target Jones as part of an ongoing feud in Jacksonville,” Bercaw said.
Chance is a documented ATK gang member, and Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy are documented 1200 gang members, according to police.
RELATED: ‘We will have justice for Charles’: Mother of slain artist Julio Foolio says she asked him to stop rapping amid violence | Jacksonville rappers are making music videos about real murders. Police and mothers of victims are watching
During the news conference, Tampa police showed surveillance from the night of the shooting where the suspects can be seen stalking Jones. At one point, the shooters got out of a car parked across the street from the hotel where Jones was staying.
They can be seen on video wearing all black while sneaking around the parking lot before firing multiple shots at the car Jones was riding in.
Police said the three shooters were armed with a handgun and two rifles.
“Today, three dangerous criminals are off our Florida streets and in police custody where they belong,” Waters said. “These individuals have chosen lives of urban terrorism and with arrests we show Tampa, Jacksonville and the rest of Florida, we hold violent criminals accountable.”
Investigators said they used surveillance videos, license plate readers and phone logs to identify the two vehicles involved and tie them to the suspects.
Three other people were injured in the shooting outside the hotel but survived.
(Warning: The surveillance video, released by police, shows the shooting and is graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.)
“These criminals decided to bring their fight to Hillsborough County. Let me be clear, the feud ends here,” said Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez. “My office will vigorously prosecute each of these defendants to ensure they are held accountable for the calculated murder of Charles Jones.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Waters was asked about Keyanta Bullard, a high-profile rapper who goes by “Yungeen Ace” and is affiliated with ATK, one of the gangs allegedly involved.
Waters wouldn’t speak regarding the Tampa investigation but did say JSO does not have an active investigation into Bullard. He did say the group doesn’t move in Jacksonville without JSO knowing about it.
Anyone with information that could assist in this ongoing investigation is asked to call the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130, or contact Crimestoppers of Tampa Bay at 800-873-TIPS.
To watch the sheriff’s office full conference, click here.
