27 year old Louis Stokes of Barnegat pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault,
possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, and hindering
apprehension. Shortly before midnight on October 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 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 consent search revealed three
handguns, including a stolen 9mm handgun which the ballistics laboratory later determined had been
used to shoot the victim. Stokes’ DNA was present on two of the handguns and he was identified as the shooter by an eyewitness.