52°
Dennis Allen Hairston, 34, of Windsor Mill, and 33-year-old Rosedale resident Donte Davon Stanley are facing a lifetime in prison after being found guilty of kidnapping and other offenses.
Prosecutors say that between May 2021 and August 2021, Hairston and Stanley were part of a group that planned and organized the kidnapping of three people, two of whom worked at check cashing businesses.
"(They) committed the crimes with the goal of robbing the check cashing businesses where two of the victims worked, and to steal cash and other items of value from the third victim.
"Evidence at trial also establishes that (they) planned and organized the carjackings of two of their victims' vehicles."
Their victims were surveilled before the abductions, including attaching tracking devices to their vehicles, according to investigators.
They then posed as police officers sporting police vests, police badges, and using a police-style light bar to stop the victims and their vehicles, prosecutors continued.
According to court documents, the group brandished firearms, bound, and blindfolded each victim and forcibly put them into a vehicle, and two of their victims were also burned by a blowtorch during the course of the kidnappings as they sought to ascertain information.
Hairston and Stanley were each convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to affect commerce by robbery.
Hairston was convicted of counts relating to the first and second abduction, and Stanley was convicted of offenses relating to the first abduction and acquitted on counts relating to the second abduction.
Both men were acquitted of conduct relating to a third abduction.
“There’s no question these criminals belong behind bars, and their conviction guarantees that will happen,” Special Agent in Charge William DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office said in a statement.
“Hairston and Stanley’s actions are disturbing and will not be tolerated. FBI Baltimore is determined to ensure brazen individuals willing to use inconceivable violence for financial gain are brought to justice.”
When they are sentenced, both will face life in prison for the kidnapping conspiracy.
Two others, Davonne Tramont Dorsey and Franklin Jay Smith previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy, and their sentences are pending.
Want breaking news in the DMV as it happens, or want to contribute? Join the DMV All Incidents Facebook group.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Towson and receive free news updates.
