Christopher Davis, 37, pleaded guilty on July 20 to second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated assault for a 2023 shooting, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.

On Sept. 5, 2023, Atlantic City Police responded to reports of gunfire on the unit block of South Florida Avenue.

Upon arrival, officers discovered two men suffering from gunshot wounds to their legs. Nearby, police located a woman and her 2-year-old child sitting inside a parked car. Authorities found that a bullet had struck the rear passenger-side door right where the toddler was strapped into a car seat. Several other parked vehicles in the area were also riddled with bullet holes, and investigators recovered approximately 27 spent shell casings from the scene.

Surveillance footage captured a 2022 Nissan Altima with Missouri license plates circling the block multiple times before the shooting. The vehicle parked on nearby Bellevue Avenue, where an unidentified passenger wearing all dark clothing and a black face mask exited while the driver waited inside.

According to prosecutors, the gunman crept around the side of a building at 30 South Florida Ave. and opened fire on a group of men standing outside. Following the barrage, another man at the scene returned fire down the street.

The shooter fled back to the waiting Altima, which rapidly accelerated out of the neighborhood, nearly hitting a father and child who were forced to jump out of the street to avoid being struck.

On Sept.11, 2023, Atlantic City Police located the suspect vehicle on Indiana Avenue with Davis behind the wheel. Davis told officers his girlfriend had rented the car and that he had been driving it for two weeks.

Investigators executed search warrants for the vehicle and Davis’s cell phone. Phone location data placed Davis in the immediate area at the exact time of the shooting and showed his device leaving the scene along the same escape route captured on surveillance video.

In addition to the conspiracy charge, Davis also pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose after correctional officers found him with a handmade knife, or "shank," while detained at the Atlantic County Justice Facility. He is expected to receive a concurrent three-year prison sentence for the weapons charge.

Davis remains held at the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending his formal sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 1, 2026.