Barnegat Man Admits To Shooting Another, Then Hiding Gun

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — A Barnegat man admitted to shooting another man in the leg and then hiding the gun to keep from being arrested, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Louis Stokes, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose and third-degree hindering apprehension.

Shortly before midnight on Oct. 14, 2022, Atlantic City police went to Sewell Avenue where they found a man who had been shot once in the leg, officials said.

The crime scene, with eight expended 9mm shell casings, was found nearby in the area of Pennsylvania and Adriatic Avenues, officials said.

Surveillance video showed that a group of men had been in the area of the shooting before fleeing inside a home together, officials said.

Inside that home, three handguns were found, including a stolen 9mm handgun which the ballistics laboratory later determined had been used to shoot the victim, officials said.

This handgun was found after it was hidden outside a second-floor window on an adjacent exterior windowsill, according to authorities. Stokes' DNA was present on two of the handguns and he was identified as the shooter by an eyewitness, officials said.

Under oath during his guilty plea, Stokes admitted shooting the victim with the handgun which he then hid in order to hinder his apprehension, according to officials.

After his guilty plea, Stokes requested to be released from the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending his sentencing. The State opposed this request and the Court ordered Stokes to remain incarcerated, officials said.

He is set to be sentenced in Sept. 2024, and is expected to be sentenced to an

aggregate term of five years in New Jersey State Prison, with an 85 percent period of parole ineligibility under the No Early Release Act and the Graves Act. Upon his release from prison, Stokes will be subject to intensive parole supervision for a period of three years.