Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel today sentenced Henry Lee Kenner II, age 43, of Alexandria, Virginia, to 150 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for kidnapping and witness tampering.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Colonel Woodrow W. Jones III, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
According to Kenner’s plea agreement, on June 8, 2019, Kenner, dressed in black, drove from Virginia to the home of the victim in Prince Frederick, Maryland, and asked to speak with the victim. An argument ensued and Kenner struck the victim with his fist and cut her hand with a knife, then forcibly removed the victim from her home, without her consent. Kenner continued to assault the victim as he took her to his car and put her in the passenger seat. A witness who saw some of these events stated that Kenner threatened to kill the victim if she opened the door when Kenner was walking around the car to the driver’s seat.
As detailed in the plea agreement, Kenner drove the vehicle from Calvert County through Charles and Prince George’s County, and continued to assault and yell at the victim. At one point, a Trooper from the Maryland State Police called Kenner on his cellular phone and asked that he return with the victim to her residence. Kenner indicated that he would do so, but instead continued across the state line, into Virginia. Kenner then pulled over and disposed of the knife. Eventually, Kenner dropped the victim off at a hospital where she was treated for her injuries. Kenner ultimately turned himself in to the Maryland State Police.
In October 2019, Kenner was charged federally in Maryland for kidnapping. In December 2019, while in federal custody awaiting trial, Kenner attempted to persuade an individual, in exchange for money, to arrange for the killing of the victim so that she would be unable to testify against him. Kenner provided the victim’s personal identifying information to the individual so that it could be used to locate and kill the victim. The individual did not execute the plan and no money changed hands.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the FBI and Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation and thanked the Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office for its assistance. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys G. Michael Morgan, Jr. and Joseph R. Baldwin, who prosecuted the case.