Man charged In death of cohort as they fled crime
Man shot in failed home invasion dies in car during escape.
When Gilbert Stokes was shot after a failed home invasion in Hollywood in February, he and another man jumped into Douglas Mackey’s car and headed north to Palm Beach County. They did not stop at a hospital or get any help, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffff ’s Offiffice, and Stokes died along the way.
After Mackey arrived at his home in Lake Worth, he moved Stokes’ body to the back seat and kept it there for several days before moving the body again to a Mangonia Park parking lot, where Stokes was eventually found by sheriffff ’s deputies.
Mackey was arrested Friday on a charge of second-degree murder in the 39-year-old’s death.
On Feb. 24, a passerby called 911 to report what he thought was a person sleeping in the back of a parked four-door tan Chevrolet on the 4700 block of Australian Avenue just after 1 a.m. When deputies arrived, they found Stokes fatally shot in the back of the vehicle. A medical examiner later determined Stokes died from a single gunshot in his back.
A phone belonging to another man was found in the back seat alongside Stokes, according to the report. The Palm Beach Post is not naming the man because he does not appear to face any charges in the case. The man told investigators he knew Stokes but only learned of his death from friends. On the man’s phone, Mackey was identifified as another person who knew Stokes.
The day after the car was found, investigators spoke with Mackey, who gave this account of what happened:
On Feb. 20, Stokes, the man and Mackey drove down to Hollywood to rob the residents at a home for undisclosed reasons. Once there, Stokes and the man went to the home as Mackey sat in the car. The two came rushing out and Stokes was shot.
Hollywood police spoke with the residents who said there was a knock at the door; when they answered, Stokes and another man had handguns. The homeowner was able to disarm one of the men, then shoot at them with a .38-caliber handgun.
Asthey drove back to Mac key’ s home in Lake Worth, Stokes died. Mackey moved the body to the back seat of the car where it sat for three days, Mackey told investigators. On Feb. 23, Mackey said he got another friend to follow him to the Mangonia Park parking lot where he left the car with Stokes in the back seat.
Mackey was named by the sheriff ’s office in July as someone in connection to Stokes’ death, but was booked into Martin County jail on unrelated drug charges at the time.
Mac key made his first appearance in court Sunday and was ordered to remain at the Palm Beach County Jail without bail. Mackey has been arrested several times in Palm Beach County, mainly for drugs.
Stokes was sentenced to life in prison for killing 18-year- old Jyron Seider, the son of longtime Glades Central High School Athletic Director Jay Seider, in 2000. He was granted a new trial in 2002 and reached a 12-year plea deal after a witness was unwilling to testify. He was released from prison in 2012 after serving nine years.