TAMPA, Fla. – Jury selection began Monday in Tampa for Alicia Andrews, one of five people charged in the killing of Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio.
Detectives say Alicia Andrews and her boyfriend, Isaiah Chance, acted as lookouts the night Julio Foolio, whose real name was Charles Jones, was ambushed and killed outside a Tampa hotel near USF last summer.
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According to investigators, the couple drove from Jacksonville to Tampa with three others who were allegedly targeting the rapper as part of an ongoing gang war.
Authorities believe Andrews helped track and surveil the rapper as he moved between Tampa nightclubs. Because she was not part of her boyfriend’s gang, detectives say the others had her use her cellphone and car to try to help them avoid detection.
What they’re saying:
“The phone data shows that it was tracked from Jacksonville to Tampa. There were no other stops — indicating that they were in Tampa for nothing other than tracking and killing the victim,” Tampa Police detective Juan Ramos testified during a bond hearing shortly after the murder in 2024.
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The other side:
Andrews’ attorneys recently sat down with FOX 13 to discuss why they believe she’s innocent. Life Malcolm, one of Andrews’ lawyers, said she had no idea the other suspects planned to target Jones.
“Perception is not reality. Just because she was there around a group of guys who had bad stuff on their mind, doesn’t mean that she had bad stuff on her mind or was even aware that they did,” Malcolm said. “She was here for a trip with her boyfriend. That’s it and that’s all and found her herself caught up in a mix of stuff that she was unaware about completely.”
Jeremy McLymont, another attorney for Andrews, said his client has been forthcoming with detectives from day one.
“This is the case where the state tries to put her in a box and say that she is the girlfriend of one of the individuals involved and that she would do anything that this guy tells her to do because she’s so in love with him,” McLymont said.
“They just leap to the conclusion that since she was there, she must know, and it’s just a faulty kind of logic,” added Malcolm. “She has no problem telling them everything that she knows, and she did, believing that the truth will proverbially set her free.”
The backstory:
Julio Foolio was a Jacksonville rapper who had been at the center of ongoing feuds between rival gangs. He was killed last year while celebrating his birthday in Tampa.
Why this case is different?
Prosecutors say Andrews does not meet the legal standard for the death penalty because she wasn’t part of a criminal enterprise tied to the gang war.
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Her four co-defendants, Chance, Sean Gathright, Davion Murphy, and Rashad Murphy, are accused of being active gang members and could face the death penalty if convicted.
What’s next:
The four other defendants are expected to be tried separately in the spring.
The Source: This report is based on court filings and statements from detectives with the Tampa Police Department and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It also includes statements from Alicia Andrews’ defense team.
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