Federal Arson Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025
All 17 people sentenced for arson in the Central District of California received a prison term. The data cover fiscal years 2018 to 2025. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as in all 94 federal districts, and a mandatory minimum applied to 14 of the 17 (82%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2 › Arson: Central District of California
In brief: All 17 people sentenced for arson in the Central District of California received a prison term. The data cover fiscal years 2018 to 2025. The median prison term was 60 months (5 years), the same as in all 94 federal districts, and a mandatory minimum applied to 14 of the 17 (82%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 17 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Mandatory Minimums Applied to Most Arson Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 14 of the 17 people with that information recorded (82%). A mandatory minimum is a sentencing floor set by statute.
All 17 people (100%) were sentenced to prison, and none received probation only. Every case used the same primary guideline, §2K1.4 (Arson).
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type is "Arson." These cases were less than 1% of the 9,958 people sentenced in the district.
Length of Prison Terms
The median prison term was 60 months. A quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. The gap between 108 months and 12 months shows that terms varied a great deal.
In all districts, 96% of 742 people were sent to prison, and the median was also 60 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 37 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Plea and Trial Results
A guilty plea was entered by 15 of 17 people (88%), and 2 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 93% pleaded guilty, and for all offenses in this district the share was 95%.
The median prison term was 60 months after a guilty plea and 90.5 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 2 people. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 17 people, 7 (41%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request. Another 5 (29%) were within the range, 3 (18%) were below it without a government request, and 2 (12%) were above it.
For all districts, 45% of arson cases were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 29% were. Arson sentences here were within the range less often than the national figure for this type.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 16 people (94%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered, and restitution was ordered for 12 (71%).
On criminal history, 41% were in category I, the lowest, and 6% were in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Years With Arson Sentences
The district sentenced 6 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 11 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Arson cases appear in 6 fiscal years, and none are listed for 2016, 2017, 2020, or 2022. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September.
Yearly counts are from 1 to 5, and medians range from 29.5 months to 108 months. The table is too small to show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 60 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2019 | 5 | 92 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2021 | 4 | 30 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 36 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2024 | 3 | 108 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 29.5 months | 2 of 2 |
What Is Not in the Records
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted, and the fire, the damage, and any injuries are not described.
Fort Irwin, Twentynine Palms, and Vandenberg SFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Central District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California Central") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Arson" (17). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Central District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.