An actor who has appeared on “Law & Order” and “Boardwalk Empire” has been convicted of the “calculated,” revenge-fueled Queens murder of another man more than four years ago, prosecutors said Monday.
Isaiah Stokes – who also records and performs music under the name I$AIAH – was found guilty Friday of shooting 37-year-old Tyrone Jones nearly a dozen times inside his parked car on Feb. 7, 2021, the Queens DA’s Office said.
He was convicted of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon following a two-week jury trial, which started on February 13 – and now faces 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.
Stokes, 45, had a four-month-long vendetta against Jones, ever since the younger man kicked him out of his birthday party during a clash back in October 2020, prosecutors said.
On Jan. 29, 2021, Stokes allegedly placed a GPS device underneath Jones’ car, which he used to track him down and commit the broad-daylight murder more than a week later, the DA’s office said.
Surveillance footage of the murder showed the actor stepping out of a vehicle near the intersection of Linden Boulevard and 200th Street and then approaching the driver’s side window of a parked white Jeep Grand Cherokee — where he fired off 11 shots, prosecutors said.
Jones was shot multiple times in the head and chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The slain man was waiting for a friend to go out to lunch when his life was abruptly cut short, the DA’s office said.
“This was a calculated murder,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said in a statement. “The defendant, a part-time actor, stewed for months after being thrown out of a birthday party for his own inappropriate behavior. 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.”
“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,” the DA added. “I thank our prosecutors and the NYPD detectives who built this case. The jury has now spoken, and the defendant faces up to 25 years to life at sentencing for his criminal actions.”
Justice Kenneth Holder ordered Stokes to reappear for sentencing on March 21.
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