Fla. man accused of killing pregnant girlfriend days after double murder acquittal
02/09/2023 3:47 pm PST
TAMPA, Fla. (TCD) -- Police have arrested a 25-year-old man they believe is responsible for fatally shooting a 22-year-old pregnant woman as her young son slept in the car.
On Wednesday, Feb. 8, Tampa Police announced they arrested Billy Adams nine days after Alana Sims was found dead with "upper body trauma" on the 10700 block of Pictorial Park Drive in New Tampa. Police said Adams was "known to the victim."
Adams allegedly shot Sims on Jan. 30, just three days after a jury found him not guilty of two counts of murder and armed burglary in a separate case. He now faces charges of first-degree murder and killing of unborn child by injury to mother.
According to Tampa Police Interim Chief Lee Bercaw, on the night she was killed, Sims "thought she was going to attend a party for who she considered to be a boyfriend and who she believes is the father of her unborn child."
The party was reportedly supposed to be a celebration of Adams' recent acquittal. Adams' double murder charges stemmed from a November 2020 shooting that occurred inside a shed that doubled as a recording studio. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office detectives reportedly believed the killing was gang-related, and Sheriff Chad Chronister called the shooting an "execution."
Bercaw said surveillance footage placed Adams' car near where Sims was found dead. Following his arrest, he allegedly admitted to pulling the trigger and killing his girlfriend.
According to Bercaw, "It would appear the motive is that he did not want to be in her life and was not ready to have a child."
Sims was five months pregnant.
WFLA, which cites the arrest report, says Adams argued he shot Sims in self-defense.
Adams was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail, where he is being held without bond.
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