Jaden Stokes, a 21-year-old male, tragically lost his life on the evening of October 27, 2022, in a shooting inside the lobby of the Campos Plaza NYCHA development in New York City's East Village. Stokes and a 24-year-old companion were waiting for an elevator when a gunman entered and opened fire. Stokes was struck in the torso and was later pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. His friend sustained a gunshot wound to the leg but survived.
The day he was killed, Jaden had just received his first paycheck from a new job as a School Youth Mentor.
The brazen attack was captured on surveillance footage, which showed the assailant, wearing a mask, firing multiple shots at the two men as they waited for the elevator and then pursuing them down a hallway. The shooter was seen on camera fleeing the scene. Investigators described the gunman as having a dark complexion and wearing a black hoodie with red-and-white sneakers.
In the days following the shooting, police identified a suspect, 31-year-old Lindell Cox. Cox, who lived a short distance from the victim in the Jacob Riis Houses, was on parole for a prior robbery conviction. Authorities suggested the shooting may have been in retaliation for a previous dispute between Cox and Stokes. Investigators were able to track Cox's movements through surveillance video, which captured him making a purchase with his EBT card without a mask on about 90 minutes before the deadly encounter. His parole officer was able to identify him from this footage.
Lindell Cox was apprehended on November 4, 2022, when he was lured to his parole office under the pretense of discussing early termination of his parole. Upon his arrival, he was taken into custody and subsequently charged with murder, attempted murder, and criminal possession of a firearm. At the time of his arrest, a 9-millimeter handgun with an altered serial number was recovered, which police suspected might be the murder weapon. Cox was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and ordered to be held without bail. During his bail hearing, he acknowledged being the person in the earlier surveillance video but denied being the shooter.
