An Atlantic City man accused of shooting a teen during a verbal altercation was just released from prison in March.
Louis Stokes III, 25, was arrested Friday, after he allegedly fled a shooting in the 400 block of North Pennsylvania Avenue.
Police were called to the area at about 11:18 p.m., after ShotSpotter detected eight shots fired, according to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC.
The 19-year-old victim, identified only by the initials Z.H., was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s City Campus with injuries not considered life-threatening.
He told police that he was walking past a group of men when he got into a verbal argument with Stokes.
Z.H. said the man then pulled out a gun and fired at him repeatedly, according to the affidavit.
Police found eight 9mm shell casings at the scene.
Surveillance video from the scene showed three men run into a house at 1107 Adriatic Ave. immediately after the shooting, the affidavit states.
Police surrounded the apartment and called out the occupants, which included two babies and Stokes’ mother, who gave consent to search her residence, according to the affidavit.
Three handguns were allegedly found inside a diaper bag on the second floor. The guns were identified as a .40-caliber Glock 23 semiautomatic handgun, a Taurus revolver and a 9mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic handgun.
A window of the room was propped open, and police found another bag on the windowsill of an abandoned property next door “within arms-length,” the affidavit stated.
There was a second 9mm Smith & Wesson inside the bag. It had been reported stolen from Georgia.
Isaiah Lopez, who was also inside the building, said he just met Stokes that day and had come to the residence to smoke marijuana with a person whose name was redacted from the affidavit provided to BreakingAC.
Lopez gave a similar statement to the victim.
He said the two men exchanged words, and the victim appeared to clutch at his waist. That’s when Stokes pulled out a handgun and shot him.
After the shooting, they all ran to the Adriatic Avenue residence, Lopez said, but Stokes was the only one to go to the second floor, where the guns were found.
Stokes was just released from prison March 11, after serving nearly a year, state Department of Corrections records show.
He had previously been paroled Oct. 29, 2020, but went back in on April 4, 2021, after he was arrested with a gun, according to court records.
His criminal history dates to a handgun possession in 2016, when he was 18 years old. He has had several convictions since, including burglary, assault and other weapons offenses.
Stokes now faces 15 charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault, receiving stolen property, tampering with evidence and four counts of certain person not to possess weapons.
He is in the Atlantic County Justice Facility awaiting a detention hearing.
