An Atlantic City man admitted Monday that he had a loaded gun in order to intimidate rival gang members.
Altarik Hopkins, now 22, and his juvenile co-defendants fled a vehicle stop May 5, 2021, after Atlantic City police recognized it as being reported stolen from Vineland.
They found cellphones and two loaded handguns inside, according to the charges.
An analysis at the New Jersey State Police lab linked one of the guns to two shooting investigations, police said at the time. No details were given on those shootings and it does not appear Hopkins was charged in any either of those cases.
The cellphone contained videos of Hopkins and the juveniles passing around handguns while driving through rival gang territory in the stolen vehicle.
Police put out a wanted flyer for Hopkins that June. He was arrested that September, jail records show.
He pleaded guilty Monday, and faces seven years under the plea agreement, with 3½ years of parole ineligibility.
The defense asked that Hopkins be released following his guilty plea and pending sentencing. The state opposed that. Judge Donna Taylor sided with the state, keeping Hopkins in the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
