@meghannmcuniff: A Florida judge this morning sentenced a 23-year-old woman to 15 years in prison for her role in the murder of gang member and rapper Charles "Julio Foolio" Jones Jr. A jury on Oct. 31 convicted Alicia Andrews of manslaughter, a lesser included charge to first-degree murder. Jurors acquitted her of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Jones' mother spoke before Judge Kimberly Fernandez in Florida's 13th Judicial Circuit heard argument from Andrews' lawyer, Jeremy McLymont, and Assistant District Attorney Michelle Doherty. Judge Michelle Sisco presided over the trial, but McLymont sought to disqualify her from sentencing Andrews and cited "hostile" comments in trial he said showed "obvious bias." Sisco rejected the motion, so McLymont appealed to Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal, and a three-judge panel removed Sisco from the case on Jan. 27. Judge Fernandez rejected McLymont's motion for a new trial on May 11. Andrews was tried separately from her boyfriend, Isaiah Chance, and codefendants Sean Gathright, Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy. A jury convicted the men on May 8, including of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, then recommended they be sentenced to life in prison instead of death. Surveillance videos show three gunmen — Gathright and the Murphy cousins — ambush Jones with two AR-style rifles and Glock 19 as he sat in his Dodge Charger outside a hotel near the University of South Florida early on June 23, 2024. Chance and Andrews were nearby in the same parking lot. Prosecutors in trial argued she helped plan Jones’ murder, including following him as he celebrated his 26th birthday in the hours before he died. Jones was prominent in Jacksonville in drill rap, a subgenre of hip-hop music, and his music videos showed him celebrating the murders of rivals by pouring champagne on their graves. He was shot several times in Houston, Texas, in July 2023, and testimony in Andrews’ trial indicated the same firearm that injured him then was used to murder him a year later. One big difference in evidence in the two trials was Chance's lawyer told jurors he was with Andrews in the drive-through line at a McDonald's in Tampa before Jones was killed, whereas Andrews testified in her trial that he wasn't with her. #law #crime #court #hiphop

Meghann Cuniff

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Friday 22 May 2026 13:39:59 GMT