Louis Stokes, of Barnegat, pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, and third-degree hindering apprehension on Thursday, July 25, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
Shortly before midnight on Oct. 14, 2022, the Atlantic City Police Department responded to Sewell Avenue in Atlantic City where they located a gunshot victim. The victim had been shot once in the leg and his injuries were non-life threatening.
A crime scene consisting of eight expended 9mm shell casings was 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 consent search revealed three handguns, including a stolen 9mm handgun which the ballistics laboratory later determined had been used to shoot the victim, the prosecutor said.
This handgun was found after it was hidden outside 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, the prosecutor said.
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