Stefon Freshley, a 29-year-old resident of the District of Columbia, was sentenced to an additional 36 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to smuggle contraband into the Central Detention Facility (CDF) while awaiting trial. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Freshley pleaded guilty on June 27, 2025, to conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. In addition to the new prison term, Judge Timothy J. Kelly ordered that Freshley serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.
Court documents show that in March 2019, Freshley was being held in maximum security at CDF as he awaited trial for two separate assault with intent to kill cases. He shared housing with other detainees from the Clay Terrace neighborhood, including co-defendants Marcel Vines and Darius Robertson.
The group recruited a Correctional Officer to bring prohibited items into the jail. Investigators from the Department of Corrections intercepted one container containing a switchblade, an iPhone and charger, eyeglasses, marijuana and tobacco bundles, rolling papers, gambling dice, three sheets of paper laced with synthetic cannabinoids, and cigarettes. The officer involved was placed on administrative leave.
Afterward, Freshley and others recruited another officer for further smuggling efforts. Before a July 2024 incident involving smuggled goods, Freshley arranged for two unlocked phones to be delivered into CDF. One phone was used in what appeared to be an attempt to intimidate witnesses during Vines’ murder trial. This led authorities to increase courthouse security measures during the proceedings.
On July 25, 2024, corrections staff conducted searches in units housing Clay Terrace detainees and found significant amounts of contraband: 269 blue pills testing positive for fentanyl; 60 cigarettes soaked in an unknown liquid; 255 suboxone strips; seven pieces of paper soaked with unidentified substances; three cellphones; and more cigarettes.
Previously on August 30, 2024, Freshley received a sentence of 90 months in prison for his role as a passenger during a drive-by shooting that injured a teenage boy and his father on December 28, 2018. During that incident about thirty rounds were fired into another vehicle; the boy suffered nine gunshot wounds while his father sustained injuries to his leg and hand before suspects fled.
Judge Kelly ordered that today’s sentence will run consecutively with Freshley's earlier sentence related to the shooting case.
The investigation involved the DOC Office of Investigative Services along with support from the Metropolitan Police Department and FBI Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Gold and Sarah Santiago prosecuted the case.
"This case was investigated by the DOC Office of Investigative Services, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the FBI Washington Field Office," according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro's office.
