Police Continue Search For South Jersey Shooting Suspect Who Remains At Large

EGG HARBOR TWP., NJ -- Five people have been charged in connection with a shooting that left one person dead and four others injured in Atlantic County, New Jersey State Police announced on Tuesday.

Police are also searching for another vehicle that may have been involved in the Monday afternoon shooting on the Atlantic City Expressway near Exit 12 in Hamilton Township.

Police have identified the man who was killed as 22-year-old Rosemund Octavius, of Egg Harbor Township.
Octavius was the passenger in a silver Nissan Maxima. At about 3 p.m., police received a 911 call for a medical assist to the car on the northbound side of the Garden State Parkway at milepost 39.

The driver, 24-year-old Anthony Hicks, of Mays Landing, was uninjured. He said Octavius had been shot as he was driving on the Atlantic City Expressway.

The other car involved in the shooting was a white Ford Expedition. Police received 911 calls that that car had pulled into the Wawa on Tilton Road in Egg Harbor Township near the entrance to Atlantic City International Airport around the same time as the 911 call for the Garden State Parkway incident.

Each person was suffering from gunshot wounds, and they were all taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City for treatment.

The SUV had sustained about 21 gunshots and was missing a wheel, police said.

Police investigated the situation throughout the night, including investigations on both the Expressway and the Parkway that resulted in major traffic delays.

During the investigation, witnesses told detectives they saw a black Dodge Ram pickup truck that may have been involved in the shooting. After the shooting, they say the truck continued eastbound on the Expressway, and police believe it exited in the Pleasantville area.

Images of the truck police believe may have been involved in the shooting are attached to this post. One photo shows the truck prior to the shooting.

The other is a photo taken after and clearly shows damage to the left-rear bumper. The truck also had temporary Delaware license plate XC988134.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Atlantic City Expressway Station at 609-965-7200. Anonymous tips are welcome.

State Police detectives and Egg Harbor Police canine officers traced the path of the Expedition back to a location near the Wawa, where they found three handguns and one AK-style assault rifle.

Police found additional evidence in the Expedition. Both the Expedition and the Maxima were towed to a State Police facility for a thorough forensic examination, police said.

Police remain unsure from which vehicles the shots were fired that killed Octavius or injured the people in the Expedition, so the charges filed on Tuesday are based on preliminary findings.

Hicks was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and certain persons not to possess a firearm.

The occupants of the Expedition included:

• Lenardo Caro, 24, of Little Egg Harbor Township;
• Yahshaun Stukes-Williams, 19, of Mays Landing (currently hospitalized);
• Shaun Stukes, 38, of Atlantic City (currently hospitalized); and
• a 16-year-old boy.

All four were charged with:

• Four counts each of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon; four counts each of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose;
• One count each of second-degree possession of an assault weapon; and
• One count each of fourth-degree possession of a defaced firearm.

Caro, Stukes-Williams and Stukes were all also charged with first-degree employing a juvenile in a crime.

Bail was set at $250,000 full cash for all suspects.

“The investigation is still very active and updates will be supplied as new information becomes available,” police said. “Troopers are still searching areas for additional evidence, so motorists could expect further police activity in the vicinity.”

The attached images of Shaun Stukes, Anthony Hicks, Yahshaun Stukes-Williams and Leonardo Caro were provided by New Jersey State Police.