Tampa rapper murder trial: Inmate testifies about alleged jailhouse letters
Rapper on trial for murder of pregnant girlfriend
A fellow inmate took the stand Monday in the murder trial of a Tampa rapper. Billy Adams is accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend just a few days after he was acquitted of a separate double murder. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A fellow inmate testified about an alleged cover-up scheme in the murder trial of Tampa rapper Billy Adams.
Adams is accused of shooting and killing his pregnant girlfriend in January 2023.
Tampa rapper murder trial
What we know:
Prosecutors say Adams lured his girlfriend, Alana Sims, 22, who was five months pregnant at the time, to Easton Park in New Tampa. They say he shot her in the back of the head from about three feet away, while her toddler was asleep in her car.
On Monday, the state continued calling witnesses, including Bryan Boggs, a convicted felon who was in the Hillsborough County jail when Adams was arrested. He said that he and Adams discussed possible defense arguments in Adams' case.
Boggs testified that Adams wrote letters from jail to three women instructing them what to tell investigators, to craft an alibi. Boggs copied Adams' letters in his own handwriting in order to cover their tracks.
"He asked me, because he knew I was about to get out, if, when I got out and in the letters to the people he needed me to deliver them to," Boggs said. "And in the letters, he would say code words to understand that these letters came directly from him, and they would do what he asked them to do."
However, Boggs testified that he never intended on giving those letters to the women. Instead, he ripped up his own letters and handed Adams' letters over to detectives.
Boggs said he's currently serving a five-year prison sentence for unrelated crimes.
Defense's cross-examination
The other side:
On Monday, the defense cross-examined Boggs about his motive in helping detectives.
"When you got out of custody, you also would look up this case when you were on the streets, right?" the defense asked Boggs.
"I would watch it on the news, yes ma'am," Boggs replied.
"And you read about it in the Florida Sentinel when you were in the jail?" they asked.
"Yes ma'am," he replied.
The state rested its case midday, and the defense rested on Monday afternoon without calling any witnesses.
Jury closing statements
What's next:
Court adjourned Monday afternoon. Closing statements are expected to start Tuesday morning.
Adams could face the death penalty if he is convicted of the charges.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from courtroom proceedings and testimony provided during the trial.