Jury selection begins Monday in Hillsborough County for Alicia Andrews’ trial in rapper Foolio’s murder case.
TAMPA, Fla. — Jury selection is set to start in Hillsborough County court on Monday for the first trial linked to the 2024 murder of Jacksonville rapper Charles Jones, known as Foolio.
Alicia Andrews is the first of five suspects to be tried in this case. She faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with Jones’s death.
Jones was killed in an ambush at a Tampa Holiday Inn. He was a well-known figure in the Jacksonville gang 6Block. Several defendants are identified as members or “associates” of rival gangs often connected, ATK and 1200. State attorneys have described the murder as premeditated, arising from an “ongoing gang war.”
The case has gained attention because police have used rap songs as evidence in prior hearings. In a May hearing for another suspect, Davion Murphy, police played several songs by renowned Jacksonville rapper Yungeen Ace, a documented ATK member who seemingly claimed responsibility for Jones’s death in his songs. Ace’s music has been utilized to illustrate the defendants’ alleged gang affiliations, though he hasn’t been charged with this crime.
Andrews’ alleged role in the crime
Andrews is the sole defendant not documented by the state as a gang member, which means she isn’t subject to a gang enhancement on her charges.
The Tampa Police Department reports that Andrews helped Isaiah Chance Jr. in tracking and following Jones and his group to two different sites the night of the shooting. However, she wasn’t described in police reports or previous statements as having fired any weapons.
While Chance and Andrews are accused of aiding in stalking Jones and tracking him down, the remaining three suspects are accused of acting as the shooters.
Andrews was arrested in Jacksonville along with Chance when police served a search warrant at a residence on Captiva Bluff Road North. Police issued instructions to exit the home for 15–20 minutes before Chance and Andrews surrendered, according to records.
What can be introduced
Andrews’ attorneys had planned to argue that she was suffering from domestic abuse at the hands of Chance. However, a judge ruled that Andrews’ attorneys cannot introduce this evidence; in capital murder cases in Florida, defendants cannot argue they committed the crime under duress.
A judge had also previously ruled that the state may introduce evidence related to past gang murders to make its case against the Foolio suspects.
