A 26-year-old Jacksonville rapper posted his birthday plans on Instagram. He tagged the location. He wanted people to come celebrate with him in Tampa. Nine days later, he was shot and killed in a hotel parking lot while celebrating his birthday weekend.
On Friday, the youngest of the four men convicted of his murder stood in a Tampa courtroom and listened to the verdict. Sean Gathright is 20 years old. When the jury foreman said guilty, he broke down. Not quietly. The courtroom footage, now viewed more than 3.4 million times, shows a young man collapsing under the weight of what the rest of his life just became. A corrections officer stepped toward him. Gathright kept crying.
He was 18 when it happened. He lived with his mother. He was not a documented member of any gang. His attorney told the jury he had “found himself caught up in the whirlwind.” Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The war underneath the music
Charles Jones performed as Julio Foolio. He was a documented member of 6Block, a Jacksonville gang that had been at war with two rival groups, ATK and 1200, for years. The violence had taken people from every side. Diss tracks were released mocking the dead by name.
During his interrogation, co-defendant Davion Murphy told investigators what that felt like from the inside. His grandmother had a heart attack because of songs Foolio made about people they had lost. His aunt became bedridden with depression. “Somebody pissed on my cousin’s grave,” Murphy said. “You gotta feel that.”
On June 14, 2024, Jones posted a flyer on Instagram promoting his 26th birthday party in Tampa. Prosecutors say that post is what started the coordinated mission to kill him.
Five hours south on I-95
Nine days later, two cars left Jacksonville. Isaiah Chance, then 21, and his girlfriend Alicia Andrews drove a silver Chevrolet Cruze. Gathright, then 18, rode in a Chevrolet Impala with Rashad Murphy, 30, and Davion Murphy, 27.
That night in Tampa, Chance and Andrews showed up at two different nightclubs where Jones was celebrating. They never approached a bouncer. They never tried to get inside. They watched him and reported back.
Before dawn on June 23, the groups converged at a hotel near the University of South Florida. Three men opened fire on the vehicle where Jones sat in the passenger seat. Dozens of rounds. When it was over, a 26-year-old who had come to Tampa to celebrate his birthday was dead. Three other people were wounded.
Tampa’s police chief later said the surveillance footage “looks like a movie.” Prosecutors identified the three shooters as Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy.
What police found in his mother’s house
Officers stopped Gathright at a Jacksonville shopping center three days later. He complied. In his back seat they found a Glock 9mm, loose ammunition, magazines, and gun parts.
A search warrant took them to the house he shared with his mother. Inside a safe, they found spent 9mm shell casings that matched those recovered from the hotel parking lot. A rifle consistent with the weapon used in the ambush. DNA on tape from that rifle that matched Sean Gathright. Cell tower data placed his phone at the scene.
His attorney called him “a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit.” Detective Ramos testified that police had never heard of Gathright until Tampa investigators brought up his name. He had no documented ties to ATK, 1200, or any gang.
The jury deliberated for eight hours and came back guilty on all counts.
What the others did, and what he did
What made Gathright’s courtroom breakdown travel was how different it looked from everything the other defendants had done since the night of the murder.
Rashad Murphy posted an image of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick celebrating a Super Bowl win in the hours after Foolio was killed. He posted laughing emojis. He wrote “Hate me kindly.” Davion Murphy, alone in an interrogation room, was caught on camera simulating a shooting and flashing gang signs. During the trial, one defendant laughed in court and had to be removed from the courtroom.
Gathright’s interrogation footage told a different story. He paced the room for what appeared to be hours. Then he climbed onto the table and tried to pry open a ceiling vent.
Three of them celebrated or performed. Gathright panicked. And on Friday, he was the only one who cried.
Monday
All four men were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Gathright, Rashad Murphy, and Davion Murphy were also convicted of attempted second-degree murder. A fifth defendant, Alicia Andrews, was previously convicted of manslaughter for her role as a lookout.
The penalty phase begins Monday. Prosecutors are seeking death. Under Florida law, a jury does not need to be unanimous to recommend it. Eight of twelve is enough.
Foolio’s family was in the courtroom on Friday. They have waited nearly two years for this. Sean Gathright’s mother was there too.