Newly released court documents and surveillance footage have revealed what prosecutors describe as “critical evidence” in the murder case of Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio, showing one of the alleged shooters, Sean Gathright, cleaning the getaway vehicle just hours after the fatal attack.
According to pretrial filings, detectives obtained video from a surveillance camera at a relative’s home in Polk County, where Gathright was recorded meticulously wiping down a Chevy Impala believed to have been used in the killing. The footage, captured around 4:30 p.m. on June 23, 2024, shows Gathright arriving in all-black clothing resembling that worn by one of the suspects at the murder scene earlier that morning.
Investigators say Gathright entered the home for roughly two hours before returning outside around 6:30 p.m., where he appeared to be cleaning the Impala’s exterior and interior door handles while speaking on his cellphone. He then transferred several bags into the garage, where a 2004 gold Toyota 4Runner was parked, and later drove off in that vehicle, leaving the Impala behind.
The family member who owned the property provided consent for detectives to review the video, which prosecutors now cite as evidence of “consciousness of guilt” and an attempt to destroy evidence.
The Impala, registered to Gathright’s mother, was allegedly the exact vehicle seen fleeing the scene of the shooting outside a Home2 Suites hotel near the University of South Florida in Tampa. In statements to police, the family member said Gathright had called ahead, claiming he was visiting for dinner. He allegedly told relatives he had given “a ride to a couple of friends” before arriving in the Impala and later switched to the 4Runner to return to Jacksonville.
Detectives say the surveillance video is only part of a broader web of evidence linking Gathright to the June 23 killing.
- Ballistics testing matched two 9mm shell casings found in Gathright’s home with casings from the Foolio murder scene.
- During a June 26 traffic stop, officers discovered nine spent rifle casings in Gathright’s vehicle that were traced to two separate shootings — one being a failed October 2023 attempt on Foolio’s life.
- A search of his residence uncovered a gun safe containing multiple rifles, one outfitted with a brass catcher consistent with the weapon type used in the Foolio shooting.
- Investigators also recovered boxes of 300 Blackout and 5.56 ammunition, calibers matching the weapons used in the attack.
Prosecutors allege Gathright was one of three gunmen — alongside Rashad Murphy and Davion Murphy — who ambushed Foolio’s vehicle outside the hotel in the early morning hours of June 23. Surveillance from the hotel shows three masked individuals emerging from a car: two armed with assault rifles and one carrying a handgun with an extended magazine. The assailants fired dozens of rounds in what police described as a “hellish onslaught”, killing the 26-year-old rapper and wounding three others.
Court records further allege that Alicia Andrews, who was tried separately beginning in October 2025, acted as a lookout during the attack. Prosecutors have described Gathright as “the weapons man on this team,” claiming he supplied and maintained the AR-15 rifles used in the killing.
Now 18 years old, Gathright faces charges including two counts of premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and tampering with physical evidence. Prosecutors have indicated they may pursue the death penalty for certain defendants, though no final decision has been announced.
Gathright’s trial is currently set for spring 2026, following the conclusion of proceedings against Andrews and the Murphy brothers.
The Polk County footage — showing Gathright calmly cleaning the Impala mere hours after the murder — has emerged as one of the prosecution’s most compelling exhibits. To investigators, it underscores a methodical effort to eliminate forensic traces from what they describe as a “carefully orchestrated, gang-related execution.”
