Four suspects were arrested this week in connection with the death of Florida rapper and gang member Julio Julio, who police say was killed in a coordinated gang-related shooting as he was celebrating his birthday last month.
Shawn Gasright, 18, Alicia Andrews and Isaiah Chance Jr., both 21, were arrested Saturday in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
According to arrest records, Gathright was arrested at the shopping center, while Andrews and Chance were found together at a residence.
The three are currently being held in Jacksonville as fugitives and will be transported to the Tampa Police Department to face felony murder charges, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
A fourth suspect, Rashad Murphy, 30, was arrested early Tuesday on a local warrant for not possessing a valid driver’s license.
He turned himself in to SWAT teams and officers at the apartment complex after a tense standoff that lasted several hours and required the evacuations of surrounding homes, the sheriff’s office said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a fifth suspect, Rashad Murphy’s cousin, Davion Murphy, 27, remained at large.
The five suspects allegedly traveled from Jacksonville to Tampa between June 21 and 23 and killed 26-year-old Julio Julio in retaliation for an ongoing gang war. The Tampa Police Department said:
Authorities said the rapper, whose real name is Charles Jones II, was a known member of Jacksonville’s “6 Blocks” gang.
The 6 Block Gang has a long-standing rivalry with two other street gangs known as “ATK” and “1200.” Chance is an ATK member, Rashad Murphy is a 1200 member, and Davion Murphy is a 1200 associate.
Julio Furio turned 26 on June 21. Two days later, Chance and Andrews allegedly tracked Furio and his entourage to two locations in the Tampa area, police said.
At each location, the suspects exited their vehicles and Chance used his cell phone, after which a second suspect vehicle appeared, police records show.
The two cars then followed the rapper and his companions to Home 2 Suites, where three armed gunmen exited the vehicle and began firing at Julio Julio’s parked car, video footage showed.
The shooters are believed to be Rashad Murphy, Shawn Gathright and Davion Murphy.
The incident left Julio Julio dead and three others injured.
Just before the shooting, the musician had celebrated his birthday with a pool party at a nearby Airbnb.
The incident, which was posted on social media, got out of control and police forced the rapper to leave the premises, his lawyer, Louis Fusco, said at the time.
“If you commit a crime in Jacksonville or any other city in Florida, there’s no place to hide,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said of the wave of arrests a month after the deadly shooting.
According to police records, both Andrews and Chance are expected to be charged with premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm and premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm.
Gathright is charged with two counts of premeditated murder with a firearm, three counts of attempted first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
Andrews, Chance and Gathright are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 9.
Rashad Murphy is expected to be charged with one count of premeditated first-degree murder, one count of conspiracy and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. It is unclear when he is scheduled to appear in court.
State Attorney Susan Lopez said Monday that all five suspects face life in prison, “including the one who did not pull the trigger.”
“In the state of Florida, if you participate in a murder plot, you can be held responsible for that person’s death, and that’s what we’re trying to do here,” she said.
“It’s clear that all of them came to Tampa with one purpose in mind: to kill someone.”
NBC News reported that Julio Julio began making music in 2015. Upon the release of his last album, “Resurrection,” in April, he said: He has already “had multiple attempts on his life,” but has survived.
The rapper’s father, Charles Andrew Jones, was shot and killed during an argument in Jacksonville in May 2011.
