Barnegat, NJ, man gets 5 years in prison for Atlantic City shooting
An Ocean County man now knows his fate in connection to a shooting in Atlantic City nearly two years ago.
Louis Stokes of Barnegat sentenced
27-year-old Louis Stokes was facing charges of second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, and third-degree hindering apprehension.
Late last month, he was sentenced to five years in state prison with an 85% period of parole ineligibility (just over four years) under the No Early Release Act and the Graves Act. Upon his release from prison, Stokes will be subject to intensive parole supervision for three years.
2022 shooting in Atlantic City
The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office says just before midnight on October 14th, 2022, the Atlantic City Police Department responded to Sewell Avenue where they located a victim who had been shot in the leg. Eight expended 9mm shell casings were located nearby in the area of Pennsylvania and Adriatic Avenues.
Through surveillance video, police learned that a group of men had been in the area of the shooting before fleeing inside a home together. Stokes was arrested after he exited the home and a search revealed three handguns, including a stolen 9mm handgun, which a ballistics laboratory later determined had been used to shoot the victim.
Officials said that the gun was found after it was hidden outside of a second-floor window on an adjacent exterior windowsill. Stokes’ DNA was present on two of the handguns and he was identified as the shooter by an eyewitness.
Under oath during his guilty plea, Stokes admitted shooting the victim with the handgun which he then hid to hinder his apprehension.
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Gallery Credit: Chris Coleman