The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Aspiring Rapper Update

Posted on | July 29, 2024 | 1 Comment

Say hello to Charles Andrew Jones II, a/k/a “Julio Foolio” and, while you’re at it, go ahead and say good-bye, because Mr. Jones died last month in a hail of gunfire in the parking lot of a Tampa hotel. Because it’s been more than a month since our last Aspiring Rapper Update, I’ll remind you of the definition:

Aspiring Rapper
North American euphemism for a member of the urban criminal class. This unusual occupation is usually mentioned in conjunction with the subject either being slain or being taken into custody for a violent or property-related crime. A relative of the subject usually points out that the subject’s demise or incarceration comes at an extremely inopportune moment, occurring just as the subject was “turning they(sic) life around.”

“Julio Foolio” had done more than merely aspire to be a rapper. He had released several recordings and had more than a million followers on social media. But he was definitely part of the “urban criminal class”:

Charles Andrew Jones II was born on June 21, 1998, in Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up in the Moncrief neighborhood and was a member of the “6-Block” set of the street gang KTA (“Kill Them All”). His father, Charles Andrew Jones, was murdered in a 2011 shooting in Jacksonville. . . .
In 2017, Foolio’s 18-year-old cousin, Zion Malik Brown, was shot and killed in his home. This is believed to have started the deadly gang war in Jacksonville, as rapper Yungeen Ace was wounded and three men killed in a 2018 retaliatory shooting, and Foolio posted derogatory content about the victims on social media.

It was his social media habits that led directly to his death last month, as “Julio Foolio” was posting his location in Tampa while celebrating his 26th birthday. Police today announced three arrests in the case:

Three people have been arrested and accused in the shooting death of Charles Jones, a Jacksonville rapper known as “Julio Foolio.”
Jones, 26, was shot and killed in June in an ambush attack while celebrating his birthday in Tampa.
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw, Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez and Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced the arrests Monday afternoon and said there are also warrants out for two other people believed to have been triggermen.
All five suspects, who are from Jacksonville, are accused of premeditated first-degree murder among other charges.
Isaiah Chance, 21, Alicia Andrews, 21, and Sean Gathright were arrested over the weekend in Jacksonville.
Police said Chance and Andrews tracked and followed Jones and his entourage to two locations. At each location, the two got out of their vehicle and Chance used a cell phone, police said. After the cell phone communication, a second suspect vehicle arrived at each location. Both vehicles then followed Jones and his entourage to the Home 2 Suites located on McKinley Drive, where the murder happened.
Police said that Gathright, 18, along with two other outstanding suspects, Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy, fired shots at Jones that night.

All of the people involved in the shooting are affiliated with Jacksonville gangs ATK and 1200 which are rival gangs to 6 Block, the gang Jones had connections to, according to police. The feud between 6 Block and its rival gangs ATK and 1200 has spanned over a decade with dozens of murders by and against both sides, officials said.
“Detectives believe that the ATK and the 1200 worked together to target Jones as part of an ongoing feud in Jacksonville,” Bercaw said.
Chance is a documented ATK gang member, and Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy are documented 1200 gang members, according to police.
During the news conference, Tampa police showed surveillance from the night of the shooting where the suspects can be seen stalking Jones. At one point, the shooters got out of a car parked across the street from the hotel where Jones was staying.
They can be seen on video wearing all black while sneaking around the parking lot before firing multiple shots at the car Jones was riding in.
Police said the three shooters were armed with a handgun and two rifles.
“Today, three dangerous criminals are off our Florida streets and in police custody where they belong,” Waters said. “These individuals have chosen lives of urban terrorism and with arrests we show Tampa, Jacksonville and the rest of Florida, we hold violent criminals accountable.”
Investigators said they used surveillance videos, license plate readers and phone logs to identify the two vehicles involved and tie them to the suspects.
Three other people were injured in the shooting outside the hotel but survived.
“These criminals decided to bring their fight to Hillsborough County. Let me be clear, the feud ends here,” said Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez. “My office will vigorously prosecute each of these defendants to ensure they are held accountable for the calculated murder of Charles Jones.”

Readers will note that “Julio Foolio” resembled “Sideshow Bob” from The Simpsons, which is probably not relevant to the act of “urban terrorism” that ended the rapper’s career, What is relevant is that there are now three fewer criminals on the streets of Florida and, once the two fugitive suspects are apprehended — or die in a shootout with police — the public will be that much safer. And nothing of value has been lost.



 

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Category: Aspiring Rapper Update, Florida

Comments

One Response to “Aspiring Rapper Update”

  1. OK, who did not see this coming? | If You are Left you ain't Right
    July 30th, 2024 @ 12:39 pm

    […] Other McCzmain has another “Aspiring Rapper” story. A tragic end for Julio […]