Adrian Gilliam, Man Who Sold Gun That Killed McNair, Wanted Affair with His Mistress Sahel Kazemi
Photo: Sahel Kazemi.
PICTURES: McNair's Lover Sahel Kazemi
PICTURES: McNair's Other Lover Leah Ignagni
Thirty-three-year-old Adrian Gilliam was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on Friday for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Metropolitan Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said after the hearing that text messages between Gilliam and 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi showed there was "a desired relationship" with Kazemi.
Photo: Adrian Gilliam.
PICTURES: McNair's Lover Sahel Kazemi
PICTURES: McNair's Other Lover Leah Ignagni
"The messages that he sent to her clearly indicate he wants to be around her," Aaron said. "He was pursuing her."
In October, CBS News reported Gilliam and Kazemi exchanged more than 200 calls more than three weeks before the murder-suicide, including 49 texts and calls the day before.
Photo: Steve McNair playing for Tennessee Titans in 2003.
PICTURES: McNair's Lover Sahel Kazemi
PICTURES: McNair's Other Lover Leah Ignagni
Police released a few texts retrieved from Kazemi's phone and one shows Gilliam asking if they're going to get together.
Gilliam acknowledged during a court hearing in September that he sold Kazemi a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic pistol for $100.
Photo: Sahel Kazemi.
PICTURES: McNair's Lover Sahel Kazemi
PICTURES: McNair's Other Lover Leah Ignagni
Homicide detective Sgt. Pat Postiglione told reporters at a press conference later Friday that Gilliam said he sold Kazemi the gun for her protection because "she talked about some prowlers being in the area."
Police originally said Kazemi met Gilliam while she was trying to sell her car, and then she said she was looking to buy a gun.
Following Friday's hearing, Aaron said Gilliam lied to police during an initial interview at his La Vergne home in which his fiancee was present because he did not want her to know about his romantic interest in Kazemi.
Aaron said Gilliam eventually told police that he and Kazemi met outside a downtown Nashville club weeks prior to the deaths. Aaron said Gilliam was never a suspect in the deaths because there was no evidence he was involved.
"When it all comes down to the science of the crime scene, and a detailed analysis of the crime scene, we concluded that she killed him then kill herself," he said.
Police have said Kazemi's life was spinning out of control because of financial and other problems. They said Kazemi sent McNair a text message on July 3 to say she was so stressed she might have a breakdown and asked for $2,000 to pay bills. Texts show McNair had someone transfer the money to her.
Emily Andrews, Kazemi's former roommate, told police that McNair told her he was working on divorcing his wife so he and Kazemi could get married, according to documents also released Friday by Nashville police.
However, Andrews said Kazemi was suspicious that McNair was seeing other women.
Andrews said Kazemi was also seeing other people, including a player from the Tennessee Titans _ where McNair was quarterback _ and a Vanderbilt University football player.
Nevertheless, Postiglione said Kazemi's emotional tie to McNair led to her decision to kill him.
"I think she had her mind set on killing the man that she ... could not live without. She figured if she couldn't have him, then nobody would."
Given an opportunity to speak during the hearing, Gilliam said, "My heart goes out to the families of the victims. I have learned a lot of lessons."
He asked the judge for leniency because his family, including a toddler daughter, is struggling financially, and he said he wants to support them. The girl was among a few of Gilliam's family members who attended the hearing, including his fiancee who sobbed uncontrollably when his sentence was announced.
U.S. District Court Judge Todd Campbell said he understood that Gilliam bought the gun to protect his family and has tried to stay out of trouble since a 1993 conviction in Florida for murder and attempted armed robbery.
But, he told Gilliam, "being a felon in possession of a firearm is a serious offense."
"This very case illustrates why felons shouldn't have guns," he said. "They wind up in the wrong place, and bad things happen."
Gilliam had faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
PHOTOS
EXCLUSIVE PICTURES: McNair's Other Lover Leah Ignagni
EXCLUSIVE PICTURES: McNair's Lover Sahel Kazemi
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FULL COVERAGE
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