Florida rapper accused of killing pregnant woman in front of baby son after double murder acquittal

A Florida rapper known as “Ace NH” is accused of killing a pregnant woman in front of her young son, three days after a jury acquitted him of a separate double murder charge.

The suspect, Billy Bennett Adams III, 25, claimed he shot and killed 22-year-old Alana Sims in self-defense, Tampa police said after he was arrested Wednesday.

Sims, who would have turned 13 on February 23, was five months pregnant when she was gunned down on a residential street on January 30, where police found her body next to her SUV with her sleeping toddler inside.

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Alana Sims, 22, was the woman found dead on a residential street in Florida’s New Tampa neighborhood, her family said. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office/Handout/Tampa Police Department)

Three days earlier – on Jan. 27 – a jury in Hillsborough County, Florida found Adams had acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Trevon Albury and Daniel Thompson in a recording studio in November 2020.

“Just days after being acquitted of another crime, our murder suspect did the unthinkable when he killed an innocent woman and her unborn child,” Lee Bercaw, Tampa’s acting chief of police, said in a statement. “I hope this arrest brings closure to the victim’s family who are grieving the loss of two loved ones. We are working with prosecutors to ensure the suspect is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Alana Sims, 22, was killed in Florida’s New Tampa neighborhood, her family said. (Handout via FOX13 Tampa WTVT)

Sims’ mother told it FOX13 Tampa her son was her daughter’s “everything”.

“She shouldn’t have to die young,” said Sims’ mother, who described her daughter as “a lovely soul.”

“And everyone should know that, you know, your loved ones, you want to keep them close because you just don’t know.”

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The victim and suspect knew each other, police said, and Adams was charged with first-degree murder and killing an unborn child by injuring the mother.

Adams claimed that Sims pointed a gun at him, and that he accidentally shot her while fighting over the gun, according to court records.

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During the double murder trial, prosecutors painted Adams as a cold-blooded killer, but the Tampa rapper took the stand during his trial and said he feared for his life during the fight at the Lutz, Fla. recording studio.

A jury sided with Adams and found him not guilty.

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Prosecutor Susan Lopez said in a statement her office disagreed with the jury but “will continue to work with the Tampa Police Department to prosecute him for these recent crimes.”

“What this defendant did is unimaginable,” Lopez said. “Our thoughts and support are with the family members of these crime victims. Since the night of the killings, we have worked closely with TPD to apprehend this killer.”