Maryland felon sentenced to prison for conspiring arson, robbery at convenience stores

MARYLAND (WBFF) — A Maryland man was sentenced to 45 years in prison for conspiring to commit arson and rob convenience stores.

Stephen Kennedy, 34, of Temple Hills, was sentenced to 45 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit arson, arson affecting interstate commerce, commercial robbery, using or carrying a gun during and in relation to a crime of violence, carrying an explosive device in commission of a felony, and being a felon in possession of a stolen gun.

Additionally, Kennedy was ordered to pay over $370,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, from at least January 2021 to January 2022, Kennedy and his co-conspirators aimed to commit arson at 7-Eleven convenience stores.

Authorities said the co-conspirators set the fires so they could later steal the cash contained in ATMS in the stores.

Officials said that Kennedy and his cohorts traveled to 7-Eleven stores while they were open for business and used explosive devices to set fire to the buildings.

On at least one occasion, one of the people involved demanded the contents from inside the store’s cash registers.

Authorities said that the co-conspirators burned the stores to force their closure, and then shut off power to the security cameras, which allowed them to return to the unguarded locations to burglarize the ATMs.

Officials said the scheme resulted in losses to an ATM company of at least $90,000.

Now, Kennedy will serve prison time.