STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. DENNIS THIGPEN, JR.(10-07-1359, OCEAN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-2490-14T2

In December 2006 Stovall and two accomplices entered Keith Mason's home to steal marijuana; an accomplice shot and killed Mason during the incident. Mason's two-year-old son was present.
A Monmouth County grand jury indicted Stovall on multiple counts including murder, armed robbery, burglary, conspiracy, weapons offenses, and endangering the welfare of a child.
In March 2009 Stovall pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to several counts in exchange for dismissal of murder counts and a sentencing recommendation; that plea was later vacated for failure to comply with the agreement.
In May 2011 Stovall entered a revised plea to conspiracy (count 10), aggravated manslaughter (amended count 14), and endangering (count 16); the State dismissed remaining charges and recommended a 22-year sentence subject to the Graves Act and the No Early Release Act (NERA).
Stovall filed a pro se PCR petition claiming plea counsel was ineffective for failing to advise him that his sentence would be subject to the Graves Act and NERA and sought to withdraw his plea; the PCR court denied relief without an evidentiary hearing.
The Appellate Division affirmed, finding the plea allocutions and record refuted Stovall’s claim and that he failed to establish Strickland prejudice or deficient performance.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether plea counsel was ineffective for failing to advise Stovall his sentence would be subject to the Graves Act and NERA	State: Record shows court expressly advised Stovall about Graves Act and NERA during allocutions; no ineffectiveness	Stovall: Counsel failed to inform him about Graves Act/NERA exposure, so plea was unknowing and involuntary	Denied — allocutions and record show Stovall was informed; no prima facie Strickland showing
Whether an evidentiary hearing was required on PCR claim	State: No disputed material facts; transcript resolves claim	Stovall: Facts warrant a hearing to resolve counsel's alleged failures	Denied — no disputed material facts and plea transcripts contradict claim
Whether Stovall established Strickland deficiency prong	State: Counsel represented Stovall for years and met multiple times; allocution shows understanding	Stovall: Counsel’s performance was deficient (insufficient explanation/time)	Denied — strong presumption of reasonable assistance; record shows adequate representation
Whether Stovall established Strickland prejudice prong (would he have rejected plea)	State: No reasonable likelihood plea would have been rejected given full advisement	Stovall: Would have proceeded to trial absent misadvice	Denied — defendant failed to show reasonable likelihood of a different outcome

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-prong ineffective assistance test)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (adopts Strickland standard in New Jersey)
State v. Preciose, 129 N.J. 451 (standard for PCR evidentiary hearing; prima facie requirement)
State v. Hess, 207 N.J. 123 (recognizes presumption of counsel's reasonable professional judgment)
State v. Slater, 198 N.J. 145 (addresses plea-withdrawal standards)