Florida authorities announced this week that they had arrested four suspects in the murder of rapper Julio last month, all of whom have been charged with murder, and one suspect remains at large.
Tampa police said in a statement Monday that the murder was sparked by ongoing conflict between rival gangs.
The Jacksonville rapper, whose real name was Charles Jones, was shot and killed in an uptown Tampa hotel parking lot in the early morning hours of June 23. Police found two vehicles in the parking lot that had been struck by gunfire.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced on social media that three people were arrested Saturday. The suspects were identified as Shawn Gasright, 18, Alicia Andrews, 21, and Isaiah Chance Jr., 21.
Police said Andrews and Chance are charged with premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm and conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm.
Police said Gathright is charged with two counts of premeditated murder with a firearm, three counts of attempted first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm and tampering with physical evidence.
“They are currently being held in Duval County Pretrial Detention on murder charges and awaiting transport to Tampa,” the sheriff’s office said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that they had arrested a suspect, 30-year-old Rashad Murphy, after he was tracked to an apartment in Jacksonville and chased after a standoff that lasted several hours by police and SWAT teams. Murphy was arrested on suspicion of murdering Jones.
Police say the suspect, who remains at large, is 27-year-old Davion Murphy, who has also been charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Police said that on the day Jones was killed, Chance and Andrews followed Jones and his entourage to two separate locations.
At each location, they got out of their vehicles and Chance used his cellphone, authorities said. A second suspect vehicle arrived at each location after Chance used his cellphone, police said. The two vehicles then followed Jones to a hotel, police said.
At the crime scene, police said a car drove past the victims’ parked vehicle twice and then left, after which three gunmen exited the car and opened fire on Jones’ vehicle, killing Jones and wounding three others.
Tampa police identified the suspects as Rashad Murphy, Shawn Gasright and Davion Murphy.
The sheriff’s office listed Jones as a member of Jacksonville’s “6 Blocks” gang, which is in conflict with the “ATK” and “1200” gangs. Chance is an ATK member, Rashad Murphy is a 1200 member and Davion Murphy is a 1200 associate, police said.
“The feud between Block 6 and its rival gangs, ATK and 1200, has lasted for more than a decade and has resulted in dozens of murders by and against both sides,” police said.
It was not clear as of Monday afternoon whether the arrested suspects had hired attorneys.
The sheriff’s office said the case is ongoing and released video of the arrest of the three suspects.
“If you commit a crime in Jacksonville or any other city in Florida, there is no place to hide,” Sheriff TK Walters said in a social media statement.
“All five defendants, including the one who did not pull the trigger, face life in Florida prison. In Florida, if you participate in a murder plot, you can be held responsible for that person’s death, and we will do that here,” State Attorney Susan Lopez said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
She continued, “It’s clear that they all came to Tampa with one purpose: to kill someone.”
Lopez reminded the public of the psychological toll that murder takes on the victims’ families.
“Fans called him ‘Julio Julio,’ but to his mom he’s Charles. We’re fighting to make sure she gets justice,” she said.
Jones, 26, was celebrating his birthday the night he was killed, according to a video he posted to his Instagram Story, where he has 1 million followers. He shared a video advertising a pool party and asked followers to send him a direct message asking for the address.
Later that night, he posted that police had “locked us out of our Airbnb rental.”
His lawyer, Louis Fusco, wrote in a statement that Jones had moved into a Holiday Inn where he was ambushed in the parking lot. In April, Jones announced the release of his latest album, “Resurrection,” and posted that he had survived “multiple attempts on his life.”
He started making music in 2015.
