Actor With Roles in “Law & Order” & “Rescue Me” Is Sentenced For Murder

Actor Isaiah Stokes has been sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Tyrone Jones.

Jones, 37, was allegedly stalked by Stokes, 45, for 4 months following an altercation at Jones’ birthday party. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest and was pronounced dead on the scene in St Albans, Queens, New York on February 7, 2021.

Stokes was arrested 5 months later. The actor was found guilty of murder in the second degree and 2 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree on March 13 following a 2-week jury trial.

His sentence was handed down March 21. The sentence was read out to applause from Jones’ loved ones.

As a defiant Stokes muttered at Judge Kenneth Holder, the justice exploded: ‘I don’t care what you said! I don’t care if you maintain your innocence, you are more guilty than anyone I’ve seen in this courtroom!’

‘You thought staying in jail for as long as you can would do wonders for your movie career when you got out.

‘But here’s the problem, you have to get out and you’re not getting out, no-one can intentionally plan a murder and carry it out as stupidly as you did.

‘You were angry over a beatdown you got months earlier, you had all that rage consuming you for months and hatched this ridiculous plan.

‘You hunted down Jones and shot him 11 times and ensured he would die… ironically the murderous rage you undertook presents you with the notoriety you hope for.

‘You’re now an example of how one can completely ruin their life in the blink of an eye.’

Stokes and Judge Holder earlier clashed as the actor dragged up previous motions in his case and claimed he never received the entire discovery files.

Judge Holder said: ‘You need to talk to me about why I shouldn’t sentence you in a particular way. I don’t need to hear you talk to me about motions from before, we’re past that.

‘You were convicted so you need to talk to me about why I should have some mercy on you in the sentencing. I don’t want to hear about any motions, that’s all done.

‘We’re past that, you’re not a lawyer and frankly you don’t know what you’re talking about, you need to talk to me about what’s important.’

Judge Holder recalled how he, and Stokes’ past attorneys had strenuously recommended he take a plea deal after seeing surveillance video evidence of the murder in which Stokes was easily identifiable, which was declined.

Referencing Stokes’ past success as an actor, he said: ‘You have some small degree of talent, impressive talent, what makes this whole thing so perplexing

‘Why would you throw all this away for a fight that you said was “no big deal”… that clearly was a lie.’

District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement: ‘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.’

In a victim impact statement, Tyrone’s father, Tyrone Jones Sr., slammed Stokes for stalking and murdering his only son.

He said: ‘TJ was fun, loving, he is my son, a brother, uncle and a nephew

‘What I don’t want to remember is the day that you decided to murder my son

‘I lost my only son on February 7, 2021, TJ did not die from a car accident or a disease but by the hand of a monster, Isaiah Stokes

‘Isaiah, you stalked my son, you followed TJ for weeks, but TJ… What did TJ do to you?

‘As TJ sat in his car and was unaware…

‘You lied to everyone! I gotta go to the cemetery to talk to my son in a grave.’

Isaiah is being held at Rikers Island. He was barely recognizable at a pre-trial hearing on July 24 since he’d lost so much weight.

Katz said of the shooting in a previous statement: ‘This was a calculated murder. The defendant, a part-time actor, stewed for months after being thrown out of a birthday party for his own inappropriate behavior [toward female party guests].

‘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 parked Jeep Cherokee.

‘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. I thank our prosecutors and the NYPD detectives who built this case.’

Stokes portrayed the character Tyrone Beckwith in one episode during season 10 of NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which aired in 2009.

In 2006, Isaiah had a 2-episode arc as the shooter who murdered NYPD detective Johnny Gavin in season 3 of FX’s Rescue Me.

In 2011, Stokes played the character Louis in the second season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

The FONTY Records founder played 2 different roles during seasons 2 and 4 of disgraced comedian Louis C.K.’s FX series Louie in 2011 and 2014.

Stokes’ last music release was the track Persona of a Hustler in 2023 under his hip-hop alias is I$AIAH.