UPDATE 2/4/2025: 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.
UPDATE – St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Press Release: On July 25, 2021, at approximately 4:39 a.m. deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 28200 block of Three Notch Road in Mechanicsville, for a hold-up alarm activation.
Deputies arrived on scene and located the employee/victim outside and heavy smoke inside the business. The victim advised a male suspect entered the business and demanded money. The victim cooperated and provided the suspect with an undisclosed amount of money. As the suspect was fleeing the business, an incendiary device was thrown inside the business.
Detectives and Crime Lab personnel from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division as well as members from the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene and continued the investigation.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Detective Warren Forinash at (301) 475-4200 extension 78072 or by email at [email protected].
Information can also be provided to the Southern Regional Office of the State Fire Marshal at (443) 550-6820.
7/25/2021: On Sunday, July 25, 2021, at approximately 4:40 a.m., police responded to the 7-Eleven located at 28240 Three Notch Road in Mechanicsville, for the reported commercial panic alarm.
Police arrived on the scene to find smoke showing from the business with one employee in the parking lot.
Firefighters were dispatched bringing units from Mechanicsville, Hughesville, and Hollywood to the scene. Crews extinguished the fire in under 10 minutes.
Preliminary investigation revealed a suspect wearing all black with a black mask walked into the 7-Eleven and announced a robbery, before leaving the scene, the suspect threw three or four Molotov cocktails inside the business and fled in an unknown direction of travel.
A spokesperson for the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a robbery occurred with the suspect/suspects using multiple incendiary devices.
No injuries were reported.
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police and State Fire Marshal responded and are investigating the incident.
Updates will be provided when they become available.
Some photos courtesy of the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department.
