TAMPA | The 22-year-old woman who was accused of helping plan the ambush that killed Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio in Tampa last year was found guilty of manslaughter by jurors late Oct. 31.
Alicia Andrews was the first suspect in the murder of Foolio, whose real name was Charles Andrew Jones II, to stand trial in the case, reported First Coast News, the Times-Union news partner.
Andrews had been charged with first-degree murder but convicted of the lesser charge and was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
She took the stand Oct. 30, testifying that she was scared of her boyfriend, Isaiah Chance, who prosecutors say helped orchestrate the deadly attack, and insisting she had no idea a murder was being planned.
Prosecutors argued Andrews wasn’t just along for the ride in June 2024. They said she acted as a lookout, helping her boyfriend and others track Foolio’s movements the night he was shot and killed outside a Tampa Holiday Inn.
Alicia Andrews listens to the proceedings during her Oct. 31, 2025, trial in the ambush slaying of Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio in Tampa.
Gunfire from the ambush was captured on multiple security cameras.
Andrews told jurors before their decision that she thought the group was going to get food, and that she stayed in the car, unaware of what was happening.
“I mean, I heard a lot of shots so I didn’t know what went on — shooting in the air, somebody got shot at, I didn’t know,” Andrews said.
“Did you know somebody died?” the defense attorney asked.
“No,” Andrews replied.
Andrews testified that she never saw a gun that night and said she remains terrified of her boyfriend, who is also charged in the case.
“People [in jail] look at me sideways, ‘Oh, that’s your boyfriend? He said this, he told me to tell you this,'” Andrews testified. “It’s safety issues. Literally, before I came to trial, the deputy told me one of my co-defendants was trying to have me jumped. So I just do what I have to do.”
Prosecutors questioned her credibility during the trial, showing jurors a 2021 text message where Andrews wrote that Foolio “needed to die.”
“Yeah but I didn’t mean it, I was 17 and just gossiping,” Andrews testified.
Prosecutors said during the trial that the text revealed a motive, and that Andrews’ lies during her police interrogation show consciousness of guilt.
Her defense attorneys maintained she was trapped in an abusive relationship and didn’t know anything about a murder plot.
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The courtroom grew tense during her testimony, with a shouting match erupting outside as accusations of gang ties flew.
Prosecutors said the killing was a revenge attack connected to an ongoing gang feud between rival Jacksonville groups. A total of five people have been charged in the case — Andrews was the first to stand trial.
Andrews was the final witness to testify during the trial. Being found guilty, she could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Teresa Stepzinski of the Times-Union contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Alicia Andrews found guilty in rapper Julio Foolio’s murder