TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa jury reached a verdict late Friday evening in the trial against Alicia Andrews, one of the five suspects charged in the killing of Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio.
What we know:
After several hours of deliberating, they found her guilty of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder and not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.
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Prosecutors laid out their case and said she helped track and stalk the rapper. However, Andrews took the stand Friday in her own defense and argued she thought she was just going on a trip with her boyfriend, who she called controlling and abusive.
The backstory:
Julio Foolio, whose real name was Charles Jones, was ambushed and killed outside a Tampa hotel near the University of South Florida last summer. He was celebrating his birthday at the time.
According to investigators, Andrews and her boyfriend, Isaiah Chance, drove from Jacksonville to Tampa with three others who were allegedly targeting the rapper as part of an ongoing gang war.
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Authorities believe Andrews helped track and surveil the rapper as he moved between Tampa nightclubs. Because she wasn't part of her boyfriend's gang, detectives say the others had her use her cellphone and car to try to help them avoid detection.
The other side:
Andrews' attorneys recently sat down with FOX 13 to discuss why they believe she's innocent. Life Malcolm, one of Andrews' lawyers, said she had no idea the other suspects planned to target Jones.
"Perception is not reality. Just because she was there around a group of guys who had bad stuff on their mind, doesn't mean that she had bad stuff on her mind or was even aware that they did," Malcolm said. "She was here for a trip with her boyfriend. That's it and that's all and found her herself caught up in a mix of stuff that she was unaware about completely."
Jeremy McLymont, another attorney for Andrews, said his client has been forthcoming with detectives from day one.
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"This is the case where the state tries to put her in a box and say that she is the girlfriend of one of the individuals involved and that she would do anything that this guy tells her to do because she's so in love with him," McLymont said.
What's next:
Her co-defendants - Isaiah Chance, Sean Gaithright, Davion Murphy and Rashad Murphy - will stand trial next year. Andrews is expected to be sentenced on December 8.