Former 'Law & Order: SVU' Actor Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison
An actor who appeared on the iconic "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" show has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
A longtime actor, who appeared in other shows like "Boardwalk Empire" and "The Americans," has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison for murder. Isaiah Stokes, 45, was sentenced in the murder of a man in New York City in 2021.
Stokes' prison sentence was announced this week.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Stokes' prison sentence in a press release this week. The actor had been found guilty of murder earlier this month. Stokes was found guilty of murder in the second degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was found guilty in the death of 37-year-old Tyrone Jones.
From the press release:
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Isaiah Stokes was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison today after being convicted of murder for the fatal shooting of Tyrone Jones in St. Albans on February 7, 2021. The victim was sitting in a parked Jeep Cherokee and waiting for a friend to arrive for lunch when he was shot and killed. The shooting is believed to have been retaliation for an altercation between the defendant and the victim at the victim's birthday party in October 2020.
Stokes was allegedly seeking revenge on Jones for kicking him out of a birthday party.
'Isaiah Stokes, embarrassed and upset that he was thrown out of a birthday party in October 2020, sought revenge on Tyrone Jones. Months later, the defendant attached a GPS tracking device to his victim's vehicle and stalked Jones for more than a week. Stokes tracked Jones down to Linden Boulevard and fired 11 times into Jones' vehicle, striking the man in his head and chest. Justice has now been served for the premeditated murder perpetrated by this defendant and he will now spend 25 years to life in prison as a direct consequence of his criminal actions," Katz said.
Katz had more on how things transpired:
On or about January 29, 2021, the defendant placed a GPS tracking device underneath Jones' vehicle and used that to track down the victim on February 7, 2021.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. that day, Stokes exited an Audi SUV with New Jersey license plates at the intersection of 200th Street and 118th Avenue. The defendant circled the area of 200th Street and Linden Boulevard on foot for approximately 15 minutes before he walked towards Jones' Jeep Grand Cherokee, took out a gun and fired 11 times into the car.
The victim, who was waiting for a friend inside the vehicle, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest and was pronounced dead on the scene.
Stokes has been acting since the 2000s. He appeared on a 2009 episode of "Law & Order: SVU" and has had roles in several other prominent shows.
Now, he'll be spending most of the rest of his life behind bars.
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