Stephen Kennedy, a Temple Hills man, was sentenced Tuesday to 45 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release after a judge handed down a long term for a plot to torch convenience stores and rip cash from ATMs. Court records show the sentence also includes more than $370,000 in restitution. The case capped a multiagency probe into arsons and explosive attacks at 7‑Eleven locations that stretched over roughly a year.
As reported by FOX45 Baltimore, Kennedy, 34, was convicted on charges that include 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 an explosive device during the commission of a felony, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. FOX45 Baltimore also notes the restitution figure and that the sentence follows a federal trial and years of investigation.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
Federal investigators say Kennedy and his co-conspirators traveled to 7‑Eleven stores between January 2021 and January 2022 and used explosive devices to start fires while the locations were open, forcing the businesses to close. According to the ATF, the group then cut power to security cameras and later returned to burglarize ATMs at the now unguarded stores. Investigators say the crew also torched vehicles and filed false reports in an effort to cover their tracks.
A federal jury found Kennedy guilty in February 2025 on those counts, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland, which states that the scheme led to at least $90,000 in losses to an ATM company. The office also notes that co‑defendant Donnell Kelly previously pleaded guilty and received a 10‑year federal prison sentence. Prosecutors brought the case under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a multiagency initiative aimed at reducing violent crime.
Local fallout
Kennedy’s 45‑year term arrives in a year when Maryland courts have been imposing tough sentences in serial arson cases, including a recent 55‑year sentence for a former police chief. As NBC4 Washington reported, prosecutors have been pressing for lengthy penalties in cases they say endanger civilians and first responders. Local officials say Kennedy’s sentence is meant to send a clear deterrent message for crimes involving explosives and fire.
Legal details
Court filings lay out the stacked federal penalties Kennedy faced: arson conspiracy and arson affecting interstate commerce each carry up to 20 years; commercial robbery carries up to 20 years; using a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence comes with a mandatory minimum of 30 years and up to life; and being a felon in possession of a firearm carries up to 10 years. Prosecutors also sought a consecutive 10‑year term for carrying an explosive during the commission of another federal felony, factors they argued justified the lengthy sentence, as outlined by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
