Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Defendant Conspired with Other to Set the Stores on Fire, Robbed a Store, and Went Back Later to Steal Money from an ATM
Greenbelt, Maryland – After a 5-day trial, a federal jury found Stephen Kennedy, 33, of Temple Hills, Maryland, guilty of conspiracy to commit arson, arson affecting interstate commerce, commercial robbery, using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, carrying and explosive device during the commission of a felony, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Defendant was found not guilty as to one count of arson affecting interstate commerce.
The verdict was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division; Acting Maryland State Fire Marshal Jason M. Mowbray; St. Mary’s County Sheriff Steven A. Hall; Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Chief Tiffany D. Green of the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department.
According to the 8-count superseding indictment, from at least January 2021 to January 2022, Kennedy and other conspirators, including co-defendant Donnell Kelly, conspired to commit arsons at 7-Eleven convenience stores so that they could later steal cash contained in ATMs in the stores. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Kennedy and Kelly traveled to 7-Eleven locations while they were open for business and deployed explosive devices to set fire to the buildings, and on at least one occasion, demanded the contents of the cash register. The defendants burned the stores to force their closure and shut off power to the security cameras, which enabled them to return to the unguarded locations to burglarize the ATMs. This resulted in losses to the ATM company of at least $90,000. To conceal the evidence of their crimes, one of Kennedy’s co-conspirators made false police reports regarding stolen license plates.
Kennedy faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the arson conspiracy and for arson affecting interstate commerce; a maximum of 20 years in prison for commercial robbery; a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and up to life in federal prison for using a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence; a ten year sentence for carrying an explosive during the commission of another federal felony; and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Co-defendant Donnell Kelly pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and was sentenced to 10 years with supervised release for a term of 3 years, on October 2, 2024 before Judge Peter J. Messitte. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for Kennedy on May 30, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney Barron commended the ATF’s Baltimore Field Division’s Arson & Explosive Investigations Group, the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the ATF Washington Field Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Alexandria, Virginia Fire and Police Departments for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and Christopher Sarma, who are prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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