Life Sentence For Convicted Sarasota Murderer

SARASOTA, FL — The Sarasota man convicted on second-degree murder charges in the January 2016 death of William Shipp has been sentenced to life in prison. Rufus Adams, 35, was sentenced on Thursday following an April 19 guilty verdict in the case.

The case that led to Adams' conviction unfolded around 6 a.m. Jan. 15, 2016, when Sarasota police were called to a home in the 1500 block of 25th Street. Once there, they found William Shipp, 42, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Shipp was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, but died shortly after arrival.

Get the Sarasota Patch newsletter and alerts in your inbox.

“Shipp sustained numerous gun shots to his body with the fatal wounds being to his liver and lung,” an arrest report stated.

On Jan. 16, 2016, two confidential witnesses came forward and implicated Adams in the shooting. The first witness told police a group of men were in the home’s front yard when Shipp arrived, started an argument and caused a disturbance, the report said.

Adams told Shipp to leave, but he refused.

“The witness said Adams told Shipp he was going to kill him,” the report said. Adams fired several shots. Shipp tried to run away, but fell to the ground.

“Adams walked toward Shipp and stood over his body,” the witness told police. “Adams said, ‘I’ll kill you,’ and Shipp replied, ‘you already did.’”

The second witness relayed a similar story, the report noted.

Keep up with what’s happening by following Sarasota Patch on Facebook.

Booking photo courtesy of the Sarasota Police Department