TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The rapper accused of shooting and killing his pregnant girlfriend in New Tampa last week told police the victim pulled a gun on him, and he shot her in self-defense, court records show.
Tampa police said Billy Adams allegedly shot and killed 22-year-old Alana Sims just days after he was acquitted of double murder.
On Jan. 30, Sims was found shot to death outside her car at the Easton Park subdivision. A toddler was found sleeping in a car seat in the vehicle. Police said the child was not harmed.
“The victim was pronounced dead at the scene from an apparent gunshot wound to the head,” the report states.
Police said Sims was five months pregnant, and was in a relationship with Adams, who is believed to be the father of her unborn child. Investigators suspect Adams killed her because he didn’t want Sims or the baby in his life.
Police said Sims thought she was going to a party to celebrate Adams’ recent acquittal. In 2020, the rapper was accused of killing two men in a Lutz recording studio. His attorneys said he acted in self-defense. He was acquitted Jan. 27 on two counts of first-degree murder.
Adams now faces a first-degree murder charge and a charge of killing an unborn child by injury to the mother, police said.
Through interviews, surveillance video and other evidence, police learned that Adams was with Sims the night of the shooting. They found two live ammunition rounds in his vehicle, both .9mm caliber.
Adams initially told police he had not seen or spoke to Sims in several months, and was at home on the night of the shooting. But when confronted with the evidence, he gave police another alibi, saying he was at the Villas with three friends. He denied going to the subdivision, and showed police a video he purportedly took the night of the shooting. Police said he altered the time stamp and location on the video, and his friends were unable to corroborate his whereabouts.
After seizing Adams’ phone, police found text messages he exchanged with another person, which indicated he was upset about Sims’ pregnancy. One of the texts said “tomorrow, this s— is done.”
“This ain’t the way baby,” the recipient replied.
After making numerous inconsistent statements, police said Adams admitted to meeting Sims at the subdivision. He claimed she pulled a gun on him, and he wrestled it away and accidentally shot her.
“When the defendant could not demonstrate the events the defendant changed his statement to the fact that the victim pulled a gun on him and he was able to get the gun away from the victim and then shot her in the head as self-defense,” the report states. “When asked about the location of the gun, the defendant stated he threw it away on his way home after the shooting.”
Tampa Interim Police Chief Lee Bercaw called the crime “unthinkable.”
“Mere days after he was acquitted of a separate crime, our homicide suspect did the unthinkable when he killed an innocent woman and her unborn child,” Bercaw said in a statement. “I hope this arrest brings some closure to the victim’s family who is mourning the loss of two loved ones. We are working with the State Attorney’s Office to ensure the suspect is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“What this defendant did is unimaginable,” State Attorney Susan S. Lopez added. “Our thoughts and support are with the family members of these crime victims. Since the night of the murders, we have worked closely with TPD to arrest this killer. While we respect the verdict of the jury in the prior case, we disagreed with it and that is why we prosecuted him. We will continue to work with TPD to prosecute him for these latest crimes.”
Adams is being held at a Hillsborough County jail without bond. His pretrial detention hearing was scheduled for Monday.
