A rolling shootout on the Atlantic City Expressway yesterday resulted in at least four males injured and one killed in a crime and investigation scene that stretched for miles. Five people are now charged after New Jersey State Police detectives and partners from other agencies worked through the night to piece together the evidence.

Just before 3:00 p.m. Monday, police dispatch received multiple calls reporting shots fired between moving vehicles on the eastbound Expressway in the area of exit 12. Shortly thereafter, troopers on the Garden State Parkway received a 911 call for a medical assist on the northbound side at milepost 39. They arrived to find a man in the passenger seat of a silver Nissan Maxima who had died of a gunshot wound. That man was later identified as Rosemund Octavius, 22, of Egg Harbor Township. The driver of the vehicle, Anthony Hicks, 24, of Mays Landing was not injured and stated that Octavius had been shot as he was driving down the Expressway.

More 911 calls came in reporting that four males arrived in the parking lot of the Wawa store on Delilah Road in Egg Harbor Township, each with gunshot wounds. They were all taken to Atlantic City Medical Center for treatment. The white Ford Expedition they were traveling in had sustained an estimated 21 gunshots.

Witnesses who observed the shooting also reported a black Dodge Ram pickup truck that may have been involved in the shooting incident. Troopers are still looking for that vehicle and its occupant(s). It continued eastbound on the Expressway and is believed to have exited in the Pleasantville area.

State Police detectives and Egg Harbor Police canine officers traced the path of the Expedition back to a location near the Wawa where they found four weapons including three handguns and one AK-style assault rifle. Additional evidence was located in the Expedition, which was towed to a State Police facility for a thorough forensic examination, as was the Nissan Maxima.

Working with the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, troopers charged five people with weapons offenses. It is not yet clear from which vehicles the shots were fired that killed Octavius or injured the people in the Expedition, so the current charges reflect the early phase of this case. The investigation is still very active and updates will be supplied as new information becomes available. Troopers are still searching areas for additional evidence, so motorists could expect further police activity in the vicinity.

Charges for occupants of the Expedition
Unlawful possession of a Weapon, four counts each, second degree
Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purpose, four counts each, third degree
Possession of an Assault Weapon, one count each, second degree
Possession of a defaced firearm, one count each, fourth degree
Employing a Juvenile in a crime, first degree (for the three adult occupants of the SUV)
Lenardo Caro, 24, of Little Egg Harbor Township
Yahshaun Stukes-Williams, 19, of Mays Landing (currently hospitalized)
Shaun Stukes, 38, of Atlantic City (currently hospitalized)
a 16 year old male (not charged with the last crime listed)
Anthony Hicks, 24, of Mays Landing (the driver of the Maxima) was charged with the first two weapons charges from the above list and Certain Persons Not to Possess a Firearm.

Judge Switzer of the Egg Harbor Township Municipal Court authorized the charges and set bail at $250,000 full cash on all subjects.

Charges are mere accusations and all subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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