TAMPA, Fla. (Court TV) – A woman convicted of traveling with her boyfriend to kill rapper Julio Foolio smiled at her sentencing and appeared unaffected as a judge sentenced her to prison.
Alicia Andrews appears at sentencing on May 22, 2026. (Court TV)
While Alicia Andrews, 23, had faced charges of first-degree murder, the jury found her guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter at her trial in October 2025. After her conviction, Andrews successfully had the judge who presided over her trial removed from her case, arguing on appeal that Judge Michelle Sisco “exhibited overt hostility toward the defense” during the trial.
On Friday, Andrews appeared before Judge Kimberly Fernandez; her attorneys renewed motions Sisco denied and asked Fernandez to overturn the defendant’s conviction. Fernandez refused, saying that she had reviewed all the prior filings and transcripts in the case. “After having reviewed all of the defense’s assertions as to the defense’s argument as to errors made by my predecessor judge, I’m going to place on the record that I would not have ruled any differently.”
Rapper Charles Jones, known as “Julio Foolio,” was shot and killed while celebrating his birthday on June 23, 2024. Jones was a documented member of a gang in Jacksonville, Florida, where he lived; members of other rival gangs involved in an ongoing war were convicted of following the victim from Jacksonville to Tampa, where they killed him.
Isaiah Chance, 23, Sean Gathright, 20, Rashad Murphy, 32, and Davion Murphy, 29, were found guilty earlier this month of first-degree murder and conspiracy in Jones’ death. Their jury spared their life, sentencing them to life behind bars, while prosecutors had sought the death penalty.
Andrews had been dating Chance and admitted to traveling with the group from Jacksonville to Tampa, but denied having any knowledge about the murder plot. She testified in her own defense, saying that she believed the trip was part of a reconciliation with Chance.
“My son was hunted, followed and ultimately murdered in what authorities described as a coordinated plot involving multiple individuals. It is extremely painful to hear Alicia Andrews portray herself as someone who didn’t know what was going on,” Jones’ mother, Sandrikas Mays, said at Friday’s hearing. “They could have turned around, but they still carried on the plan to hunt my son down like a deer in the woods…My son’s life mattered. He was not disposable.”
Andrews’ defense asked Fernandez to consider the defendant’s “minor” role in the crime relative to her co-defendants and sought a sentence of time served and probation. ‘The State is asking for the max on someone who’s never been convicted of anything before in her life,” her attorney said. Andrews did not speak at the hearing; her attorney said he told her to stay quiet because she plans to file another appeal of her conviction.
Fernandez agreed with the state’s recommendation and sentenced Andrews to 15 years in prison.
