A TV actor from Rego Park is facing 25 years to life in prison after he was convicted of murder by a jury following a two-week trial in Queens Supreme Court on Friday.
Isaiah Stokes, 45, of 62nd Road, was found guilty of the fatal 2021 ambush shooting of 37-year-old Tyrone Jones in St. Albans on Feb. 7, 2021, as he sat in a parked Jeep Grand Cherokee, waiting for a friend to arrive for lunch at a nearby restaurant.
The shooting is believed to have been retaliation for an altercation between the two men at the victim’s birthday party in October 2020.
“This was a calculated murder,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said after the March 7 verdict. “The defendant, a part-time actor, stewed for months after being thrown out of a birthday party for his own inappropriate behavior.”
Stokes, who was born and raised in Rochdale Village, played small roles in TV series such as “Boardwalk Empire,” “Power,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Louie” and “Rescue Me,” according to his IMDb biography.
According to the charges and trial testimony, Jones and Stokes, met during the victim’s birthday party at a Queens club. Both parties were involved in an altercation related to Stokes’ inappropriate behavior toward female party guests. After Stokes refused Jones’ request that he leave, Stokes was injured during a physical altercation with other partygoers.
On or about Jan. 29, 2021, Stokes placed a GPS tracking device on the undercarriage of Jones’ Jeep Grand Cherokee and used it to track him down on the day of the murder.
At around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2021, Stokes exited a parked Audi SUV with New Jersey license plates at the intersection of 200th Street and 118th Avenue. Stokes circled the area of 200th Street and Linden Boulevard on foot for approximately 15 minutes before he walked towards Jones’s vehicle, took out a handgun, and fired 11 times into the Jeep. Jones suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Police from the 113th Precinct in Jamaica and EMS units responded to the scene. Jones was pronounced dead at the location.
Stokes drove back to his Rego Park apartment later that afternoon and returned the Audi SUV to a rental location in Hackensack, NJ, on Feb. 16.
“Intent on revenge, Isaiah Stokes placed a GPS on the victim’s car and tracked Tyrone Jones down to Linden Boulevard, where he ruthlessly shot the man 11 times as he sat in his car,” Katz said. “My office is laser-focused on gun violence, and we will utilize every tool at our disposal to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those who use deadly guns on our streets.”
Detective Daniel Connors of the NYPD’s 113th Precinct and retired Detective Michael Naus, formerly of the NYPD’s Queens South Homicide Squad, investigated the case and ultimately arrested the defendant on July 16, 2021, at his apartment with the assistance of the NYPD’s Regional Fugitive Task Force. The execution of a search warrant at the defendant’s apartment revealed documents connecting the defendant to the GPS tracking device that was found beneath the victim’s vehicle.
Stokes was convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Queens Supreme Court Justice set the defendant’s sentencing date for March 21, at which time Stokes faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
“I thank our prosecutors and the NYPD detectives who built this case,” Katz said. “The jury has spoken, and the defendant faces up to 25 years to life at sentencing for his criminal actions.”
