Shitty, shitty. This is Alacia Andrews. And yes, you’re seeing it right. She’s calmly fixing her makeup in the courtroom, completely unfazed. Then the the most shocking moment. When the judge announces her life sentence, her reaction left everyone speechless. Her calmness sent chills through everyone present.

 That smile hid something darker. The woman behind the headlines. This shocking reality is unfolding in Tampa, Florida, where 22-year-old Alicia Andrews stands accused of being the spotter in the premeditated murder of Jacksonville rapper Julio Fulio, whose real name was Charles Jones. Her behavior in court has sparked outrage across social media with thousands questioning whether this young woman truly grasps the gravity of what she’s accused of doing or if she simply doesn’t care.

 The case has captivated the nation, not just because of the high-profile victim, a rapper whose drill music chronicled Jacksonville’s deadly gang wars, but because of the defendant herself, Alicia Andrews, the sole female among five suspects charged in this brutal ambush, has become the face of a trial that exposes the intersection of gang violence, young love gone wrong, and the devastating consequences of choices made in moments that last mere seconds but echo through lifetimes.

 Let’s start at the beginning because understanding who Alicia Andrews is, or at least who she was before June 23rd, 2024, is crucial to making sense of everything that followed. Born on February 9th, 2003, Alicia L. Andrews is a 22-year-old resident of Jacksonville, Florida, a city that has become synonymous with deadly gang violence fueled by drill rap music.

 But here’s what makes her case so fascinating and in many ways so tragic. Unlike her four male codefendants, Alicia has no documented gang affiliations whatsoever. But here’s where things get complicated and where the defense and prosecution paint two completely different pictures of who Alicia Andrews really is. The prosecution’s narrative is damning and straightforward.

 Alicia Andrews was a willing participant in a premeditated murder conspiracy. They alleged that she traveled from Jacksonville to Tampa on June 22nd, 2024 with full knowledge that violence was planned. They claim she acted as a spotter, tracking Julio Fulio’s movements throughout the night from an Airbnb pool party that got shut down by police to various clubs and finally to the Home Two Suites hotel where the ambush occurred using her cell.

 Foam prosecutors say she provided real-time location intelligence to the shooters Shawn Gathight, Rashad Murphy, and Dave Murphy, enabling them to position themselves for the perfect kill shot around 4:42 in the morning. The prosecution points to what they consider overwhelming evidence, surveillance footage, cell phone records, and tower data that place Alicia at every scene throughout that fateful night.

 They highlight that she allegedly lied to police during post-arrest interviews, attempting to cover up her involvement. And perhaps most tellingly, they note that unlike the masked shooters who dressed for combat, Alicia was not disguised and did not directly handle weapons because she didn’t need to. Her role, they argue, was just as crucial, but far more subtle.

 She was the eyes and ears, the tracker, the one who made sure the shooters knew exactly where to be and when to strike. But the defense tells a radically different story, one that paints Alicia not as a calculating accomplice, but as a naive victim herself. According to her attorney, Life Malcolm, Alysia had no knowledge of or intent to participate in any murder plot.

 In their narrative, she viewed the Tampa trip as nothing more than a romantic reconciliation with Isaiah Chance Jr., her on-again, off-again boyfriend. The defense emphasizes that the relationship between Alicia and Chance was threatening, controlling, and abusive, suggesting that she was being manipulated and coerced without fully understanding what was happening around her.

 Let’s talk about the charges themselves because understanding what Alicia Andrews is facing helps explain why this trial has generated so much attention and why her courtroom behavior has been so shocking to observers. She’s been charged with premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm and conspiracy to commit premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm.

These are about as serious as criminal charges get in the American justice system. If convicted on either charge, she faces life imprisonment. Her whole life, everything she might have become, every dream she might have had could end before it ever really began. Confined to a prison cell for decades. This is Mr. Jones arriving.

He’s been out celebrating. You will find in the evidence. That is Mr. Jones with that open passenger door. The vapor you’re seeing is coming out of the hotel. That’s some type some type of a drier vent. Mr. Jones in the red stocking cap pulling up his shorts. He walks in the hotel. As you can see on the time stamp, which is slightly off by a few minutes, this is about 4:30 in the morning.

However, there’s one crucial distinction between Alicia and her codefendants that’s worth noting. Unlike some of her codefendants, she is not eligible for the death penalty or gang enhancement charges due to her lack of gang ties. This is actually significant. Florida is one of the states that still actively pursues capital punishment.

 And at least one of her co-fendants, Dave Murphy, is facing the death penalty. The fact that prosecutors aren’t seeking death for Alicia could be interpreted in different ways, either as recognition that her role was less culpable than the actual shooters or simply as a reflection of her non-gang status, which removes one of the aggravating factors that often leads to death penalty consideration in these types of cases.

 But here’s what makes this all so fascinating and so disturbing. Alicia’s connection to Julio Fulio was entirely indirect. There is no evidence or reports indicating that Andrews had any prior personal interaction or direct feud with Fulio. She didn’t know him. She had no beef with him. She wasn’t part of the gang rivalry that had been simmering and boiling over for nearly a decade.

 Her alleged actions were motivated purely by her association with Isaiah Chance Jr. and the broader gang conflict that had nothing to do with her personally. These are the questions that the jury in Tampa will have to grapple with, and they’re not easy questions to answer. What we do know is that Alicia Andrews was arrested in July 2024, about a month after Julio Fulio’s death, and she is the first of the five suspects to stand trial.

 The trial began on October 22nd, 2025, more than a year after the murder itself. And from the very first day, it was clear that this wasn’t going to be a typical courtroom proceeding. Multiple reports and social media posts describe Alicia as smiling and laughing in court, particularly before opening statements.

Videos circulated showing her in what appeared to be a light-hearted mood, almost as if she were attending a social gathering rather than fighting for her freedom in a murder trial. But it gets more stunning than that. Multiple accounts describe Andrews applying lipstick and makeup, sometimes with assistance from her lawyer while seated in the courtroom.

 Think about that image for a moment. A young woman on trial for murder, touching up her makeup as if she’s preparing for a night out rather than potentially spending the rest of her life behind bars. The public reaction was swift and brutal. Alicia’s courtroom conduct has been widely discussed on social media with descriptions portraying her as all smiles and unbothered.

 Julio Fulio’s fans and supporters expressed outrage, viewing her behavior as profoundly disrespectful to the victim and to the gravity of the proceedings. Some commenters speculated that her demeanor was pure arrogance, a belief that she would somehow beat the charges despite the evidence against her. Others suggested it might be a psychological defense mechanism, a way of coping with the overwhelming stress and fear by retreating into denial or dissociation.

But perhaps the most disturbing moment came during the prosecution’s opening statements. Andrews reportedly smirked when prosecutors displayed a photo of Fulio attempting to seek cover in the backseat of his vehicle during the shooting. This reaction was captured and noted in court, and for many observers, it crossed a line from merely inappropriate to actively callous.

 Here was photographic evidence of a man desperately trying to protect himself from a hail of bullets in his final moments. And the woman accused of helping orchestrate that attack appeared to find something amusing about it. Now, it’s important to note that her defense team argues she had no knowledge of the murder plot and was manipulated by her abusive boyfriend, Isaiah Chance Jr.

 And in that context, her light demeanor might align with their narrative of her as an innocent party caught in a controlling relationship. If she truly believes she’s innocent, if she genuinely had no idea that tracking Fio’s location would lead to his death, then perhaps her behavior reflects that confidence rather than callousness.

But the defense has not explicitly addressed her courtroom conduct as part of their strategy, leaving observers to draw their own conclusions about what her smiles and makeup application really mean. Julio Fulio’s deadly rivalry. Charles Andrew Jones II, known professionally as Julio Fulio, was a 26-year-old Jacksonville, Florida based rapper affiliated with the sixb block set of the KTA Kill Them All gang.

 But to truly understand who he was and why his murder has captivated so much attention, we need to understand that Fio wasn’t just another rapper who happened to be in a gang. He was a central figure in one of the most documented, most public, and most deadly gang rivalries in recent American history.

 A conflict that played out not just in the streets of Jacksonville, but across social media and in music videos that have collectively garnered tens of millions of views. Fulio gained notoriety for his drill rap music, which often referenced rival gang members and violent feuds. Drill rap, for those unfamiliar, is a subgenre that originated in Chicago in the early 2010s and is characterized by its dark, violent, nihilistic lyrics and ominous production.

 But what makes Drill particularly controversial and particularly dangerous is that the lyrics often aren’t metaphorical. They’re not abstract artistic expressions of street life. They’re specific, detailed recounts of actual violence, often naming real people, mocking actual deaths, and sometimes even threatening future violence.

 The rivalry that would eventually cost Fulio his life primarily involved the ATK gang, which stands for ACE’s Top Killers, associated with rapper Yungin Ace, whose real name is Kenyatta Bullard. The ATK gang was later allied with the 1200 gang, creating a powerful coalition against Fio’s six block KTA crew.

 And this wasn’t some casual street beef that lasted a few months or even a few years. This feud had been going on for over a decade and had involved numerous homicides in Jacksonville with bodies dropping on both sides with tragic regularity. Now, let’s talk about how this all started because the origins of the conflict help explain how someone like Alicia Andrews, someone with no gang ties, no personal history of violence, could end up tangled in this web of death and retribution.

 The rivalry’s roots trace back to 2014, initially involving Fio’s rejection from the headirst gang. But the real war with ATK ignited in 2017. On February 5th, 2017, Fulio’s cousin, Zion Brown, was robbed by Deantree Trey Shorty Thomas, a member of ATK. This robbery, which might seem like a relatively minor incident in the grand scheme of things, set off a chain reaction of violence that would claim dozens of lives over the next 7 years.

 Just a few months later, on May 27th, 2017, Trey Shorty killed Zion Brown in a home invasion. And that moment, that murder, officially ignited the KTA ATK war that would define Jacksonville’s gang landscape for years to come. From that point forward, it became a seemingly endless cycle of retaliation, with each side responding to deaths with more deaths, each killing serving as justification for the next.

Each funeral becoming a promise of future violence. Perhaps the most infamous example of this was Yungin A’s Who I Smoke, released in March 2021. This track, which sampled Vanessa Carlton’s gentle piano ballad, A Thousand Miles, and repurposed it into a mocking celebration of deceased KTA members, went viral in ways that nobody expected.

 The song garnered millions upon millions of views, bringing national attention to Jacksonville’s gang war and essentially monetizing the deaths of real people for entertainment value. The hook literally named dead gang members asking who I smoke, a reference to smoking on their pack, a slang term for celebrating an enemy’s death.

 And Fulio, he wasn’t going to let that slide. In April 2021, he released When I See You, a response track that he filmed at his rivals grave sites, literally dancing on the graves of dead ATK members while taunting their friends and families. Can you imagine the level of disrespect, the depth of hatred that would drive someone to do that? to go to a cemetery, find your enemy’s grave, and use it as a backdrop for a music video mocking their death.

 Let’s look at the timeline of key events in this feud, because understanding the context helps explain why Julio Fulio’s murder wasn’t just another random act of violence, but rather the culmination of years of escalating conflict. On June 5th, 2018, Young Ace was ambushed outside a steakhouse. He survived, but his brother Trayvon Bullard and two friends were killed in the attack.

 This was a watershed moment in the rivalry. In Fio’s response, he posted mocking content online celebrating the deaths, further enraging ATK members and ensuring that the cycle of retaliation would continue. On July 23rd, 2018, Lawrence Trey D. Davis III, described as Fio’s enforcer, was killed at a block party by ATK.

 Then on January 16th, 2019, Willie boss Goon Addison, Fio’s cousin, was killed on Interstate 95 with Fio claiming responsibility in social media posts, essentially admitting to murder publicly, which speaks to how brazen these conflicts had become. On February 25th, 2019, Adrien Lil Bby Gainor, Fulio’s friend, was killed outside his apartment by ATK member Cassoo.

 And this murder led to actual arrests and legal consequences, showing that law enforcement was starting to catch up to some of these gang members, even as the violence continued. The violence continued unabated into 2020. In January of that year, Charles Lil Buck McCormack Jr., described as Fio’s right-hand man, was killed in a drive-by shooting by ATK.

 In May, Fio’s girlfriend was shot but survived. Then on July 6th, 2020, Fio himself was shot and wounded in Houston, Texas after revealing his location online. A mistake that nearly cost him his life and should have served as a warning about the dangers of broadcasting your movements when people want you dead. But the violence didn’t slow down.

 In November 2021, Fulio was shot again while driving in Jacksonville’s Riverside neighborhood. And then in October 2023, things escalated to a new level when Fio reportedly placed a $20,000 bounty that led to the murder of Antonio Tilly Jr., an ATK associate. On that same night, Fulio survived yet another drive-by shooting, this time being shot in the foot.

 The man seemed to have nine lives, surviving attack after attack while his friends and associates kept dropping around him. This brings us to June 23rd, 2024, the day that Julio Fulio’s luck finally ran out. He was in Tampa, Florida, celebrating his 26th birthday. He had left Jacksonville, perhaps thinking that distance would provide safety from the enemies who had tried to kill him multiple times.

 The night began at an Airbnb pool party that was shut down by Tampa police. After that, Fulio and his entourage hit several clubs before eventually checking into the Home Two Suites hotel in the early morning hours. The shooting occurred around 4:42 in the morning in the hotel parking lot. Surveillance footage and witness accounts describe multiple masked shooters emerging from a vehicle and firing modified AR- style rifles equipped with brass catchers to minimize evidence.

 These brass catchers are significant. Their devices attached to the rifles that catch spent shell casings so they don’t fall to the ground, making it much harder for forensic investigators to collect ballistic evidence. The level of planning and preparation suggested this wasn’t a crime of passion or a spontaneous act of violence.

 This was a carefully orchestrated hit. The attack was described by prosecutors as a hellish onslaught and a precisely coordinated violence of action. And those aren’t just dramatic words for effect. The surveillance footage, which was shown to the jury during opening statements, captures the brutal reality of what happened.

 Three masked shooters took positions around Fio’s Dodge Charger, creating a deadly vortex of crossfire. One shooter was visible in the lower left with a Glock pistol. Another approached from behind a row of cars positioning near a yellow vehicle between a Mercedes and Fio’s car, and a third shooter was on the opposite side of the street.

 When they opened fire, the attack lasted between 10 and 30 seconds of sustained gunfire. But in those seconds, they unleashed an absolutely devastating volume of fire. Xavier Edwards, who was driving Fio’s vehicle and who survived the attack, desperately tried to drive away, but inadvertently steered into the line of fire from the third shooter.

 The Charger managed to flee up the west side of the hotel, heading north, but the damage was already done. Post shooting images from the Tampa Police Department impound lot show the Charger with numerous bullet impacts marked by yellow stickers on the hood, side, and windshield. The vehicle had taken multiple rounds, including two bullets to the back window where survivor Ultima Camila Bentley was sitting.

 It’s honestly miraculous that anyone survived at all given the volume of fire and the precision of the ambush. Julio Fulio was pronounced dead at the scene. The 26-year-old rapper who had survived so many attempts on his life, who had documented so much violence in his music, who had been both perpetrator and victim in Jacksonville’s gang wars, was finally silenced.

 In response, Yungian Ace released a track called Game Over, his own mocking celebration of his rivals death, continuing the cycle of disrespect even in death. But the violence didn’t stop with Fio’s murder. Just 5 days later on June 28th, 2024, Darius Fizzle Beiels, an ATK member, was killed in what authorities believe was retaliation for Fio’s death.

 The cycle continued as it always does in these gang conflicts, with each death spawning new deaths. Each loss creating new grievances that demand revenge. Now, the crucial question that brings us back to Alicia Andrews is this. What evidence do they have that places this young woman with no gang affiliations, no history of violence at the center of this conspiracy? And that’s where we need to examine the evidence that’s been presented in court.

 The testimony of witnesses who survived that hellish night and the digital trail that prosecutors say proves Alicia Andrews wasn’t an innocent bystander, but an active participant in murder. The trial, evidence, witnesses, and the road to justice. The trial of Alicia Andrews began on October 22nd, 2025 in Hillsboro County Courthouse in Tampa, Florida with Judge Michelle Cisco presiding.

 This is a critical detail because, as we mentioned, Alicia is the first of five suspects to stand trial. The other defendants, Isaiah Chance Jr., Shawn Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davian Murphy have trials scheduled for spring 2026, which means that in many ways, this trial is serving as a test run for the prosecution’s case. The evidence and testimony presented here will likely be refined and repeated in the subsequent trials, and the outcome could influence plea negotiations for the remaining defendants.

 Let’s talk about those codefendants for a moment, because understanding their roles helps contextualize Alicia’s alleged participation. Isaiah Chance Jr., age 21, is a member of the ATK gang and is charged with being a spotter who tracked Fulio with Andrews and coordinated with the shooters.

 This is the boyfriend, the man whose relationship with Alicia allegedly brought her into this conspiracy. Shawn Gathight, just 18 years old, is charged as one of the shooters and faces premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm, two counts. Attempted premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm, three counts, and tampering with physical evidence.

 Then there are the Murphy brothers. Rashad Murphy, aged 30 and affiliated with the 1200 gang, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm. and Davian Murphy, aged 27 and described as a 12,200 gang associate, faces premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm and three counts of attempted first-degree premeditated murder.

 Most significantly, DaVon Murphy is facing the death penalty, making his trial stakes even higher than Alysia’s, if that’s possible. Now, before we get into the specifics of the testimony, let’s talk about the pre-trial rulings that set the stage for everything that followed. Jury selection occurred earlier in the week before the trial officially commenced, and there were two crucial motions that Judge Cisco had to rule on that would fundamentally shape how the defense could present their case. First, as we discussed earlier,

the defense’s attempt to introduce evidence of domestic violence in Andrew’s relationship with Isaiah Chance Jr. to support a duress claim was denied as Florida law prohibits such defenses in capital murder cases. This was a devastating blow to the defense strategy because it eliminated their ability to argue that Alicia was coerced through fear and abuse into participating in acts she wouldn’t have otherwise committed.

 Instead, they’re left arguing that she had absolutely no knowledge of what was being planned, which is a much more difficult position to maintain when faced with evidence of her presence at every relevant location throughout the night. Is that Xavier Edwards? Yes. You saw him covered in blood. Yes. All right. So, let me talk to you about Xavier Edwards.

 I don’t know if we talked about him yet. So Xavier Edwards was also there at the clubs with you all. Yes. And he was driving the Dodge Charger coming from the clubs to the hotel. Yes. However, the prosecution also got a significant win. They were allowed to present evidence of prior gang related murders to establish motive.

 This is important because it means the jury would hear about the decadel long feud between KTA and ATK, all the deaths that preceded Fulio’s murder, and the context of ongoing gang warfare that motivated the attack. This context helps the prosecution paint a picture of a premeditated conspiracy rooted in long-standing hatred rather than a spontaneous act of violence.

 Day one of the trial featured opening statements from both sides, and the contrast between their narratives couldn’t have been more stark. Assistant state attorney Scott Harmon, presenting for the prosecution, described the murder as a hellish onslaught and calculated ambush orchestrated by Andrews and her co-fendants.

 His opening statement laid out the state’s theory of the case in vivid dramatic detail, arguing that Andrews served as a spotter, tracking Jones’s movements from Jacksonville to Tampa and providing location intelligence via phone to the shooters. Harmon told the jury that the evidence would show cell phone records, tower data, surveillance video, and Andrews post arrest lies to police, all pointing to her knowing participation in a murder conspiracy.

 He emphasized that while Alicia Andrews may not have pulled a trigger, her role was absolutely essential to the success of the attack, without her tracking Fio throughout the night, without her providing real-time updates on his location, the shooters couldn’t have positioned themselves for the ambush with such precision. But attorney life Malcolm, representing Alicia Andrews, told a completely different story.

 He argued that Andrews had no gang affiliations or knowledge of the plot, viewing the Tampa trip as a reconciliation with her controlling boyfriend, Isaiah Chance Jr. Malcolm emphasized that Alicia was not dressed like the masked shooters, had no direct links to weapons, and that the lead detective in the case was inexperienced. He essentially asked the jury to see Alicia as a victim herself, a young woman manipulated by her boyfriend, unaware that the innocent seeming trip to Tampa would end in murder.

 The first witness, whose identity was protected, was a hotel guest who had partied with Fio earlier in the evening. This witness testified about attending the Airbnb pool party that was shut down by police, then going to clubs with Fulio’s group. Most significantly, she heard 10 to 30 seconds of gunfire at the hotel, though she was in the restroom when the shooting began.

 She also revealed an interesting connection to the broader gang war. She had previously dated Trayvon Bullard, Yungin Ace’s brother, who was killed in the 2018 ambush. However, she denied any gang affiliation herself and stated she did not know Andrews. The second witness, also with protected identity, was a passenger in Fio’s vehicle during the shooting.

 The testimony from this witness was particularly powerful because of how it illustrated the sudden, shocking nature of the attack. This witness had fallen asleep in the car and woke to the vehicle crashing, initially thinking it was just an accident, but then reality set in. First thing I saw Fio laid out. I thought it was a car accident until I looked up, saw the bullet holes, and I saw the driver covered in blood, yelling.

 This witness confirmed not knowing Andrews, which is actually significant for the defense. It shows that Alicia wasn’t directly connected to Fulio’s inner circle. The third witness, another protected identity, was a passenger in a nearby vehicle who heard gunshots after clubbing, but couldn’t pinpoint the direction and flagged down police while fleeing.

 This witness provided important context about the gang rivalry, testifying that while denying personal gang ties, they acknowledged Jacksonville rap rivalries between Sixblock KTA and ATK and noted that everyone from our city makes songs about rivals and deaths, emphasizing they weren’t getting into all that personally.

 But perhaps the most emotionally impactful testimony came from the fourth witness, who the court documents identify as Vandia Norris, Fio’s cousin, who was driving the vehicle during the shooting. Norris was shot in the arm and shoulder while in the car and had to drive away while praying amid the gunfire. When shown hospital photos of his injuries during testimony, Norris broke down in tears, leading Judge Cisco to call a brief recess.

 His testimony was crucial because he confirmed Jones’s ties to KTA and his lyrics mocking rivals, helping establish the gang context that motivated the attack. The fifth and sixth witnesses were law enforcement officers who responded to the scene. Officer Brian God Charles of the Tampa Police Department testified about responding to the scene and finding pistol shell casings, but no rifle casings due to the brass catchers used by the shooters.

 He canvased the parking lot and presented crime scene photos to the jury showing the aftermath of the violence. And officer Michael Fusco of the University of South Florida police testified that he was alerted to the shooting by a fleeing vehicle around 4:42 a.m. and responded to the hotel where he confirmed there were no signs of life in Fio’s car.

 During these testimonies, the prosecution showed surveillance footage of the shooting to the jury, and this visual evidence is potentially devastating. The footage came from multiple sources, including hotel surveillance cameras that captured the overall scene and remarkably a nearby Tesla’s Sentry Mode recordings, which provided close-up views of the third shooter running down a row of cars and taking position.

 The court adjourned after the sixth witness and day two proceedings on October 23rd, 2025 continued with additional witness testimonies and evidence presentation. While real-time detailed testimonies from day two are not widely reported in available sources, we know that the prosecution is expected to delve deeper into digital evidence such as text messages and location pings showing coordination among the suspects.

 The prosecution will also present witness testimonies from survivors and bystanders describing the shooting in gang context, building a comprehensive picture of a premeditated gang hit. And they’ll point to the crime scene evidence, shell casings from the pistol only due to brass catchers on the rifles, bullet riddled vehicles, and no rifle casings left behind.

 All evidence of sophisticated planning. The trial is expected to continue with day three on October 25th, 2025, Friday. And as more evidence emerges, the public will be watching closely, not just for the verdict, but for answers to the deeper questions this case raises about culpability, about the role of women in gang violence, and about how we assign responsibility when someone doesn’t pull the trigger, but makes the pulling of that trigger possible.

 What do you think? Do you believe that Alicia Andrews was an active, willing participant in the conspiracy to murder Julio Fulio? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and make sure you’re subscribed because we’ll be covering every development in this trial as it continues.