Jurors are currently deliberating in the trial of Alicia Andrews, one of five individuals charged with the murder of Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio.
TAMPA, Fla. — The jury is considering the case of 22-year-old Alicia Andrews, who stands accused of participating in the planned ambush that led to the death of Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio in Tampa last year.
On Thursday, Andrews testified in court, expressing fear of her boyfriend, Isaiah Chance, who prosecutors allege played a key role in organizing the fatal attack. She insisted she was unaware of any murder plot.
According to prosecutors, Andrews was not merely a passive participant in the events of June 2024. They claim she functioned as a lookout, assisting her boyfriend and others in tracking Foolio’s whereabouts on the night he was fatally shot outside a Holiday Inn in Tampa.
The violent encounter was recorded by several security cameras.
Andrews recounted to the jury that she believed the group was simply out to get food, maintaining that she remained in the car and was oblivious to the unfolding events.
“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.
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.”
But prosecutors questioned her credibility, 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 say the text reveals 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.
The courtroom grew tense during her testimony, with a shouting match erupting outside as accusations of gang ties flew.
Prosecutors say 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 is the first to stand trial.
Andrews was the final witness to testify. If convicted, she faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The jury began deliberations just before 7 p.m. Friday evening.
