Former Hazelton inmate sentenced for 2015 stabbing death
Apr. 23—An inmate formerly housed at the United States Penitentiary Hazelton was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court after being found guilty of killing a fellow inmate on March 6, 2015.
In March 2020, Stephen C. Crawford, 45, was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with voluntary manslaughter, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily harm.
According to the indictment, Crawford stabbed the victim "upon a sudden quarrel and heat of passion."
U.S. District Attorney William Ihlenfeld's office said Crawford used a prison-made weapon to stab the victim multiple times.
The victim, 24-year-old Arvel S. Crawford, died from his injuries.
Despite sharing a last name, the two men are not related.
After a five-day trial in December 2023, a jury found Crawford guilty on all three counts.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided over Monday's hearing and sentenced Crawford to 188 months (about 15 1 /2 years) in prison.
Crawford was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison sentence ; however, he is already serving a 108-year sentence from 2006 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for premeditated murder, armed assault, and armed burglary, amongst other various convictions.
His release date is not slated until May 30, 2098, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Flower and Andrew Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
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