Baltimore Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Armed Carjacking & Kidnapping

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson sentenced a Baltimore man to more than two decades in federal prison in connection with armed carjacking and kidnapping charges.

Donte Davon Stanley, 35, received a 25-year prison sentence, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in the violent carjacking. 

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI – Baltimore Field Office; Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler, Harford County Sheriff’s Office; and State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey, Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office.

In June 2024, after a three-week trial, a federal jury convicted Stanley and co-conspirator Dennis Allen Hairston, 35, of Catonsville, in connection with the carjackings.  The jury found Stanley guilty of kidnapping and robbery conspiracies; kidnapping; and carjacking.

Evidence at trial established that Stanley, Hairston, and others planned and organized the kidnapping of an employee with the goal of robbing the check-cashing businesses where the victim worked. Additionally, the co-conspirators planned and organized the carjacking of the victim’s vehicle.

According to the evidence, from May 5-6, 2021, the co-conspirators followed the victim from the check-cashing business where she worked. The co-conspirators then posed as law enforcement officers and used a police-style light bar to pull the victim over.  Stanley and Hairston, who were wearing police vests and badges, brandished firearms to remove the victim from her vehicle.  They then handcuffed the victim’s hands behind her back, zip-tied her feet, blindfolded her by placing a mask and duct tape around her face, and forcibly placed her into the rear of a vehicle. 

While Stanley drove, Hairston struck, sexually assaulted, and repeatedly burned the victim with a blowtorch to obtain information from her to access the check-cashing business where she worked with the intent to remove all the cash from the business.

As Judge Hurson imposed the sentence, he described the offense as “grotesque, depraved, reprehensible conduct.” Judge Hurson sentenced Hairston to 40 years in federal prison back in December 2025, in connection with this armed robbery and a second abduction that occurred May 15-16, 2021.

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 Hayes commended the FBI, BPD, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul E. Budlow and Spencer L. Todd who prosecuted this case. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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