Defense for Tampa rapper Billy Adams fights to keep certain information sealed

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa rapper Billy Adams got a second lease on life when the jury acquitted him in January of killing two men in a recording studio in Lutz in November 2020.  

He said it was self-defense, and the jury believed him.

Three days after walking out of a Tampa courtroom a free man, prosecutors say Adams is accused of using a ruse to lure his pregnant girlfriend, Alana Sims, to a celebration party and gunning her down in cold blood.  

Her body was found lying next to her car in Easton Park, a Tampa subdivision. 

Sim's toddler was sound asleep in his car seat. Police say he wasn't harmed or injured.  

But now, those details are under scrutiny. In a court hearing Tuesday, Adams' public defender, Jamie Kane, wants information on the toddler sealed from the public.  

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Kane argues that information could hurt Adams' chances of getting a fair trial. 

"All it's doing is polluting the jury pool," Kane said.

Billy Adams being taken into custody 

But the prosecutor, Lindsay Hodges, really didn't have an issue with it. 

"I don't see a basis for that being redacted," said Hodges.

Adams, who is facing the death penalty, was set for a speedy trial date this July and was fighting to keep it. He even sent a handwritten letter urging the court to hold his original trial day.

Putting it in jeopardy, Adams points to the new death penalty law that allows a jury to recommend death on an eight-to-four vote. It used to be a unanimous vote. 

READ: Judge grants bond to Tampa rapper accused of killing 2 in makeshift recording studio

Adams dismisses the attorney's concerns writing, "I do not consent to the waiver of my speedy trial right." 

However, days after writing this letter, Adams changed his mind. Now, his trial could be a year away or longer.

However, on this day, his attorney got a win. Tampa Judge Mark Kiser agreed that certain evidence would be kept from the public view for the moment. 

Adams is charged with the murder of Sims and her unborn child.