TAMPA, Fla. — State prosecutors delivered opening statements in the trial of four men accused of the premeditated murder of 26-year-old rapper Charles Jones, also known as Julio Foolio. Tampa Bay 28 reporter Jada Williams is inside the Hillsborough County courtroom providing updates as the trial progresses.
WATCH: Opening statements begin in trial of 2024 murder of Julio Foolio
Update: 4 p.m.
Defense attorneys for all four men pushed back against the state's narrative, urging the jury to look closely at the lack of physical evidence connecting their clients to the murder.
Justin Petredis, the attorney for Chance, argued there is no proof his client acted as a lookout or communicated with the shooters.
"I ask you to look for that conscious intent that he wanted Charles Jones dead," Petredis said.
Jason Wise, the attorney for Gathright, said his client had no connection to the rap videos or the gang rivalry.
"All these detectives working that case never heard of Sean Gathright," Wise said.
Brian Gonzalez, the attorney for Rashad Murphy, acknowledged the attack happened but questioned his client's involvement. He warned the jury not to rely solely on inferences.
"The question as you receive the evidence is did Rashad Murphy participate in this attack and did he conspire with anyone to do so," Gonzalez said.
Nick Sinardi, the attorney for Davion Murphy, said his client was not in any of the rap videos and was unknown to the gang unit prior to the murder. Harmon previously noted that Davion Murphy pantomimed firing a gun while left alone in an interview room, but Sinardi said his client was drunk and playing to music.
"There's zero physical evidence that connects Davion Murphy to the death of Charles Jones," Sinardi said.
Following opening statements, the state called its first witness, a Tampa Police Department sergeant who responded to the initial 911 call about the shooting at the Home2 Suites around 4:40 a.m. Two more responding officers testified after, going over how they processed the bloody crime scene at that Home2Suites hotel.
Update: 12:30 p.m.
In his 3-hour opening, State Attorney Scott Harmon outlined the state's evidence: a timeline of stalking, gang retaliation, and drill rap music that eventually ended in the fatal ambush in Tampa.
"These conspirators had planned and now executing a premeditated plot that had been hatched days, weeks before this day," Harmon said.
Defendants Isaiah Chance, Sean Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy face charges in the killing. Harmon said the group dressed in all black and wore disguises to hide their identities.
"Caught completely and entirely off guard as these gunmen appeared seemingly out of nowhere. An ambush that these four defendants that sit in front of you in this courtroom had organized and intended," Harmon said.
Jones was sitting in the front seat of a Dodge Charger at a hotel when the gunmen opened fire. Harmon said the shooters used a Glock 9mm handgun converted to fully automatic, firing more than 30 rounds into the vehicle's hood and windshield. Harmon also showed camera footage from the hotel parking lot, pointing to one masked figure as Davion Murphy firing a rifle. He showed another video, pointing to that person with a gun as Sean Gathright.
"Basically caged in the front seat of that charger, Charles Jones was a sitting duck. Evidence will show they didn't hesitate. Not for one moment. Not for one second," Harmon said.
Five other people were with Jones at the time. Xavier Edwards, who was driving the Charger, was wounded in the arm and grazed on the head. Geno Norris, sitting in the back seat, was shot in the right arm. Camia Bentley, who slid into the driver's seat of a Nissan Altima, suffered a graze wound to her right upper arm. Two others made it inside the hotel, and were not shot.
Harmon traced the violence back to a years-long gang war in Jacksonville between the 1200 gang, affiliated with ATK, and 6 Block. Jones was the public face of 6 Block and had tens of millions of followers.
"We're going back in years and I'm going to walk you through a gang war that's been occurring in Jacksonville and spilled into our streets here," Harmon said.
The state presented evidence of back-and-forth killings between the gangs starting in August 2018. In October 2023, Jones survived a shooting where he was struck in the lower leg, just six hours after an ATK gang member was killed.
Prosecutors also pointed to the role of drill rap, a specific type of rap music where opposing gangs ridicule casualties to elevate their status. Harmon showed music videos, including "Who I Smoke" and "Foolio Dead," which referenced the hotel where Jones was murdered.
Harmon used lyrics and imagery in the songs as videos as evidence of the animosity and subsequent crime.
Prior to the shooting, Jones advertised his birthday bash at Teasers on Nebraska Avenue and an Airbnb pool party on Instagram. Harmon said Rashad Murphy booked an Airbnb in Tampa for June 22, providing his photo ID.
Surveillance footage showed Gathright and Chance loading heavy bags into a Chevrolet Impala. Chance was seen grabbing a modified Glock with an extended magazine and tucking it into his waistband.
Flock cameras captured the Impala arriving in Tampa at 7:39 p.m. Chance and his girlfriend, Alicia Andrews, used a silver Chevrolet Cruz as a tracker car to stalk Jones. Harmon said Chance and Andrews were seen in the parking lot of Teasers wearing masks and communicating with the assault team before the shooting.
When court returns from lunch... all four defense attorneys will present their openings.
What we know
On June 23, 2024, the Tampa Police Department said officers received a 911 call reporting a shooting at 11606 McKinley Drive. Upon arrival, officers found two vehicles that had been shot at in the parking lot of Home2 Suites.
Foolio, whose real name was Charles Jones, died in the shooting. Foolio was in Tampa that weekend to celebrate his birthday, according to a release by the Fucso Law Group.
Five suspects, Isaiah Chance, Sean Gathright, Rashad Murphy, Davion Murphy and Alicia Andrews, were arrested and charged in Jones' death. Police said they traveled in two vehicles from Jacksonville to Tampa to commit murder.
Andrews, one of the five suspects, was found guilty on count one of manslaughter and not guilty on count two of conspiracy to commit murder in October 2025.
The other four suspects are charged with first-degree murder and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if convicted.
This is a developing story. Tampa Bay 28 will provide more details as they become available.
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