Julio Foolio Trial: Accused Killer Laughs as Lawyer Delivers Opening Statement

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Good afternoon. As you all will recall, my name is Nick Sonardi and I am representing Davian Murphy who uh sitted at council table with me in conjunction with uh Deborah Tume who is also an attorney representing Mr. Murphy and Scotty Sonardi who we've identified as related to me but not my son and Katie Rain who is our investigator. And on behalf of all of us, I want to extend to you our gratitude for your service. I know it's been a difficult task. You're asked to come in, sit down, go out, come back and everybody's questioning you and on behalf of the five of us, I want to extend to you our thanks. Uh the court has said this over and over, but I think it's important. I know Mr. Harmon with the state was up. I didn't time them, but I'm going to say three hours giving you what he believed to be the outline of the case that allowed the state of Florida to charge these defendants with the crimes with which they're charged.

[00:01:00]Again, over and over again, what the state says or what I say is not evidence. So, simply because he was up here talking that long means absolutely nothing in the form of evidence.

[00:01:13]And I would ask, you keep hearing the name Murphy and we've identified obviously there's a Rashad Murphy and a DaVon Murphy. And I ask you all to please make sure that you keep those names separate throughout these proceedings. Uh the court will instruct you at the close of all the evidence that you will have to make a decision based on individual facts or lack thereof as to each. And I'm concerned uh for Dave that the name Murphy gets may be brought up and there may see some confusion as to uh which Murphy. So please keep that uh in your mind. So what are the facts of this case that the state outline for three hours and that is we'll agree that on June 23rd 2024 Charles Jones known as Julio Fulio was in fact shot and killed at the Home Two Suites in Tampa Hillsburg County Florida. As a result of that homicide, five people were originally charged.

[00:02:11]Isaiah Chant, Sean Cart Gathright, uh Rashad Murphy, Alicia Andrews, and Dave Murphy. That's why we're here.

[00:02:20]Okay. And what was the motive for that homicide? The state alleges that it was a gang war, and it may well have been a gang war. Uh they went through a number of individuals over the years, all the way back, I believe, to 2018. And I'm not going to go through them all, but I believe they talked about Spaz and Bby and Jake Jid and Lou Hobe and Tilly and Mr. Jones himself who was shot that this was the background of the gang war that was going on. So that it's absolutely clear Mr. Davon Murphy is in no way a suspect, a defendant, or anything to do with any of those homicides and the attempted homicides on Mr. uh Charles Jones. Okay. has nothing to do with DaVon Murphy. It has to do with the alleged gang wars between some gangs.

[00:03:11]So, just make sure that that's clear.

[00:03:16]Also, the state in its opening uh went into the the the drill wrap videos. Uh again, they're alleging that this is part of the motive for the death of Charles Jones, that these drill rap videos were uh dishing or being disrespectful to each other, and that's what caused part of the wars that apparently allegedly go back to 2018.

[00:03:42]uh we're talking about uh Spenna and uh Youngsen Ace and these are some of the drill reporters and some of which um but again so that we're clear this is part of the motive and nowhere in any of those videos those drill videos has DaVon Murphy mentioned a participant name brought up or anything has nothing to do with DaVon Murphy. Okay.

[00:04:14]And I believe we're going to find out from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office detectives who are part of their gang enforcement unit. Uh two or three of them. Each are uh assigned to different uh particular gangs. I I anticipate we're going to find out that none of them had heard of or knew anything about DaVon Murphy prior to the homicide of Charles Jones. All right, we have listened to the detectives testimony and I submit to you they had no knowledge of any involvement of DaVon Murphy and any gangs in the Jacksonville area up until the time of the uh the death of Charles Jones.

[00:05:01]So, what is the state's evidence?

[00:05:04]What is the state's evidence or lack of evidence as it applies to DaVon Murphy?

[00:05:13]They showed you part of a Tesla video.

[00:05:16]That's the the video from from the Tesla vehicle. Uh what uh well, there's they allege three individuals are the shooters. One of which they allege is DaVon Murphy.

[00:05:27]But in that video uh you cannot identify anybody.

[00:05:37]Uh the the videos are do show somebody doing some shooting but we can't identify who the shooters are.

[00:05:47]Okay.

[00:05:49]So, what is the evidence that the state hopes to convince you beyond the exclusion of every reasonable doubt that Davon Murphy is somehow involved in the death of Charles Jones?

[00:06:07]Uh, there's the evidence from the Airbnb.

[00:06:11]All right. What evidence is there from the Airbnb? The state brings that up.

[00:06:16]The only time that you see DaVon Murphy at the Airbnb is when he's leaving the day. It was technically still the 23rd, but in the later morning of the 23rd, uh that that afternoon that early that that day, the 23rd, there is no video of who they allege Rashad Murphy as a participant in this homicide. And there is no video of Rashad Murphy at the Airbnb.

[00:06:46]Um, so the only time that we see DaVon Murphy is leaving the Airbnb and earlier in the evening prior to the actual homicide, we see him at the McDonald's drive-thru, the video that the state showed you on that.

[00:07:05]Recall that the vehicle that he's in is not the black Implow, but the Silver Cruise. Okay.

[00:07:14]the state mentions and goes through a long litany of the uh license plate readers, etc. that they allege that's evidence to try to convince you that Davon Murphy is somehow involved in the homicide of Charles Jones.

[00:07:30]Uh the license plate reader is number one. Obviously, you can't tell who's in the vehicles. Number one, uh Mr. The Davon Murphy is not the owner of any of those vehicles, the the silver cruise.

[00:07:47]Um, and we cannot tell, as I've indicated, who the actual occupants are that vehicle. It's the state's speculation that it is in fact DaVon Murphy. Uh now I believe the detectives will testify that uh although there was a Ring camera at the Airbnb, there was no camera in the rear portion of the Airbnb.

[00:08:19]Uh we're not sure exactly who all was in the Airbnb. Uh we we know that Rashad Murphy allegedly is not in the Airbnb because there's no photos of him coming or going from the Airbnb.

[00:08:32]Uh and what about the the state touched on the security videos that were came from the teasers uh club? Uh there's zero security video of Damian Murphy at teasers or at truth 18. Those security videos where you see some of them walking up and they showed you the v the video of um Charles Jones. There is no videos or showing that Davon Murphy is at either one at Teasers or at Truth 18.

[00:09:18]The state I believe indicates that the occupants of the black empower, the three individuals at the home two suites that exit exit from the black empower and those are the individuals the state alleges are the shooters. However, obviously in any of the videos can you cannot identify any of the shooters that exit the uh black Impala.

[00:09:54]again. Uh the uh they had the license plate readers that alleged that DaVon Murphy was again uh leaving the um Airbnb again driving the silver Chevy Cruise, not the Black Impal.

[00:10:16]Uh, at no point in time do we ever see any video or anything whatsoever that places DaVon Murphy in the black Impala, which alleges, the state alleges uh transported the three suspects to the home to suites.

[00:10:39]The state also presented a lot of evidence that was recovered at Shan Gathight's residence. all the guns, the ammunition, etc., etc., etc. None of that whatsoever is in any way connected to DaVon Murphy. Okay. There there is no evidence from from that uh items that were recovered from Shawn Murphy's residence that connect to uh DaVon Murphy or that were in fact recovered from the gold SUV that uh Shawn Grot was was operating. Uh, none of that, all those guns, ammunition, all that stuff, none of it ties back in any way, shape, or form to Davian Murphy.

[00:11:23]Okay.

[00:11:27]What about the cell phone records? I believe the state talked about that.

[00:11:33]Uh the important thing the bottom line state and their opening showed you the history not the history but the cell phone records of uh how it hit cell towers etc all those uh towers uh the state cannot show you any sale cell phone records that show that DaVon Smith was ever at the home two suites. Okay.

[00:12:07]There may be evidence of the other codefendants or codefendants that may have been present, but the phone records will show that Davian Murphy was not at the home two suites at the time of the homicide of Charles Jones. Okay.

[00:12:33]So, let's boil it down to what is the evidence the state alleges or is presented in the form of an opening statement that uh supports any accusations of a murder in the first degree, three counts of attempted murder, and a conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Well, we have the video at McDonald's.

[00:12:56]So he went to McDonald's. We don't dispute that.

[00:13:01]And he was driving a silver cruise, not a black and pallet.

[00:13:10]What is the other evidence that the state alleges? Phone records.

[00:13:16]I'm not concerned about the other codefendants. I'm only concerned about DaVon Murphy and his phone. Although it does track from Jacksonville to Tampa and then does go from Tampa back to Jacksonville that the state showed you.

[00:13:29]He was not at the home to suite at the time of the homicide of Charles Jones.

[00:13:37]Okay. What about the license plate readers that the state went into? All they show is same thing. if you believe and we don't know who's in that silver cruise. We assume that it's Davon Murphy. But all that shows is that a vehicle with that tag number was going back came from Jacksonville to Tampa and the next day returned from Tampa to Jacksonville.

[00:14:06]And what about the videos themselves uh of the uh from the home to suites?

[00:14:12]You can't tell who's who in those videos, okay? I mean, there you can see people shooting, etc., but obviously impossible to identify anyone in those videos.

[00:14:23]Uh, I believe the state showed you a quick uh excerpt of of u Mr. DaVon Smith at when he was being interviewed at the Jacksonville jail where he's shooting pretend shooting a gun. But we'll learn when that witnesses testified that Mr. Davon Murphy was drunk and was playing to the music that was being played inside the interview room at the time that that occurred. Uh, and again, I'm going to reiterate that at no time do any of the detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, gang detective, have any knowledge of DaVon Murphy. And I keep saying DaVon because I want to make sure that you all remember DaVon versus Rashad that DaVon Murphy had that any of those gang detectives had any knowledge of DaVon Murphy prior to the homicide of Charles Jones.

[00:15:24]So what does all this mean? It means that based on very weak, I submit to you, circumstantial evidence, the state of Florida has charged DaVon Smith, DaVon Murphy with count of first-degree murder of Charles Jones, three counts of attempted murder and a conspiracy to commit murder.

[00:15:52]I submit to you there is no physical evidence whatsoever that connects DaVon Murphy to the death of Charles Jones. There is no DNA on all the projectiles that were found there, the ones that were found at Gathite.

[00:16:10]There's none. There's no fingerprints.

[00:16:12]There's zero physical evidence that connects DaVon Murphy to the death of Charles Zone.

[00:16:21]DaVon Murphy's phone exonerates him because his phone is not at the home to suit at the time of the homicide.

[00:16:32]There is no direct evidence or any direct testimony that links DaVon Murphy to the death of Charles Jones.

[00:16:41]The fact that he was present at a McDonald's and may have been present at the uh Airbnb is insufficient to make him a principal.

[00:16:52]Just mere presence is insufficient.

[00:16:55]And again, each and every one of you will have to determine the evidence as it applies individually to each of the defendants that are charged. Okay?

[00:17:09]And we've all agreed before this that DaVon Murphy is not obligated to do anything.

[00:17:19]DaVon Murphy may determine whether he wants to testify or does not want to testify. And the judge will instruct you that you ought not to consider the fact if he chooses not to testify in any way uh as uh against Mr. Burton.

[00:17:37]That is the state's burden, not Mr. Murphy's burden, to convince you beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt that he is somehow involved in the homicide or death of Charles Jones. I submit to you that a close of all the evidence or a lack of evidence or the conflict in the evidence that you'll return a verdict as it pertains to Damian Murphy of not guilty. Thank you.