JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Investigators said there is evidence that links one of the people accused of killing Charles Jones — also known as Jacksonville rapper “Julio Foolio” — to a previous attempt to kill him last year.
Jones was ambushed and killed in a Tampa hotel parking lot in June while celebrating his 26th birthday. Three of his friends were also hurt in the shooting.
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Police have arrested Sean Gathright, Isaiah Chance, his girlfriend Alicia Andrews, and Rashad Murphy and accused them in connection with the murder. Police are still looking for Murphy’s cousin Davion Murphy.
Documents were filed to the Hillsborough County court asking for those who have been arrested to be held in jail until trial and offer no bond to them.
In the documents, investigators said they found one of the accused gunmen with shell casings related to an attempt to shoot and kill Jones last October.
When Gathright, 18, was arrested during a traffic stop in a Jacksonville parking lot investigators say officers found a Glock 9-millimeter pistol, a rifle and nine spent rifle casings.
Detectives said those spent casings matched two different shootings before Jones’ death: A separate homicide in May and a shooting last October in what investigators said was an attempt to kill Jones.
Investigators also said while searching Gathright’s house after Jones was shot and killed, detectives found several rifles in a gun safe and at least one that had a “brass catcher.”
Investigators say that brass catcher was the same one that was used in the shooting of Jones so casings would not be left at the scene.
Court documents also said investigators found two spent casings from the pistol that was used in Jones’ death and a previous shooting.
Investigators said Gathright along with Rashad and Davion Murphy fired shots that night, but the others played a role in helping to track Jones before he was killed.
Investigators said the shooting was the result of a deadly and ongoing gang feud in Jacksonville.
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Investigators also said Chance and Andrews used a cell phone and social media to follow Jones and his friends to three different locations in Tampa and two different clubs where Jones was supposed to make appearances that he advertised on social media.
Investigators said Chance used Andrews’ phone to share their locations with the other three men as they followed Jones.
Eventually, investigators said, they all met in a hotel parking lot the three men took positions and shot into the car Jones was in.
Additional evidence investigators said they have linking the five people to the shooting includes surveillance video of most of them at an Airbnb in Tampa the day before the shooting and several hours after, three people leaving in an Uber from the Airbnb to go back to Jacksonville.
Investigators also said there is video of Gathright and Chance putting bags big enough to carry rifles inside a car used during Jones’ shooting death while at Gathright’s house in Jacksonville before going to Tampa.
Gathright, Chance and Andrews are all expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon in Hillsborough County for a pretrial detention hearing.
Rashad Murphy remains in the Duval County jail.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said last week that investigators are “very close” to arresting Davion Murphy.