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 on a separate double murder charge.
The suspect, Billy Bennett Adams III, 25, claimed he shot 22-year-old Alana Sims in self-defense, Tampa Police said after he was arrested Wednesday.
Sims, who would have turned 23 Feb. 13, was five months pregnant when she was gunned down Jan. 30 on a residential street, where police found her body next to her SUV with her sleeping toddler inside.
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Three days earlier — on Jan. 27 — a jury in Hillsborough County, Florida, found Adams acted in self-defense when he fatally shot Trevon Albury and Daniel Thompson at a recording studio in November 2020.
"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," Interim Tampa Police Chief Lee 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."
Sims' mom told FOX13 Tampa her son was her daughter's "everything."
"She shouldn't have to die young," said Sims’ mom, who described her daughter as "a lovable soul."
"And everybody should know that, you know, your loved ones, you want to keep them close because you just don't know."
The victim and suspect knew each other, according to police, and Adams was charged with first-degree murder and killing an unborn child by injury to mother.
Adams claimed Sims pulled a gun on him, and he accidentally shot her during the struggle for the weapon, according to court documents.
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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, Florida, recording studio.
A jury sided with Adams and found him not guilty.
State Attorney 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 latest 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 murders, we have worked closely with TPD to arrest this killer."
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