PATERSON, NJ – A neighbor’s NEST doorbell camera captured the murder of 44-year-old Latric Avery, of Paterson at the hands of the man she lived with.
Police said the woman pounded on her neighbor’s door screaming for help as Clarence Stokes moved in to kill her, stabbing her repeatedly with a knife. Her body was in the hallway and another body was found inside her apartment, that of Stanley Gunter, 67.
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office issued the following statement:
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of CLARENCE STOKES (DOB: 12/24/1978; single; unemployed) of 415 E 26th Street, Paterson, NJ on charges of murder and weapons possession charges. The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love and the Hackensack Police Department under the direction of Officer in Charge Captain Darrin DeWitt.
On Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at approximately 8:03 p.m., the Hackensack Police Department received a 911 call reporting a dispute at 95 Fairmount Avenue. Upon their arrival in the area, officers found CLARENCE STOKES walking down the street with blood on his clothing and he was taken into custody.
Officers then discovered 44-year-old Latric S. Avery, a resident of 95 Fairmount Avenue, 2nd floor, on the porch of that residence with multiple stab wounds. She was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center where she was pronounced deceased. Officers also found 67-year-old Stanley R. Gunter, also of 95 Fairmount Avenue, 2nd floor, deceased on the floor in the living room.
An investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Hackensack Police Department revealed that CLARENCE STOKES murdered Avery and Gunter with a knife.
On Thursday, August 26, 2021, CLARENCE STOKES was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3a(2); one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4d; and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5d. He was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ.
Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and he would like to thank the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Hackensack Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.