Federal Burglary and Trespass Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025
The District of New Mexico sentenced 13 people for burglary and trespass offenses, and all of the cases appear in fiscal years 2016 to 2022. 9 of the 13 (69%) received a prison term, with a median of 13 months. In all 94 federal districts, the median was 18 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 › Burglary and Trespass: District of New Mexico
In brief: The District of New Mexico sentenced 13 people for burglary and trespass offenses, and all of the cases appear in fiscal years 2016 to 2022. 9 of the 13 (69%) received a prison term, with a median of 13 months. In all 94 federal districts, the median was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 13 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.
9 of 13 Received Prison
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Burglary/Trespass" includes 13 people in this district. 9 of them (69%) received a prison term. The other 4 (31%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
In all 94 districts, the Commission counted 674 people, and 80% were sent to prison. The district's prison share was lower than that.
How Long the Prison Terms Were
The median prison term among the 9 people sent to prison was 13 months. A quarter received 23 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
The national median for this offense type was 18 months, which was higher than the district median. For all offenses in the District of New Mexico, the median was 3.5 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Guilty Pleas and Their Terms
All 13 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Nationally, 97% pleaded guilty.
Among the guilty pleas, 62% had a written plea agreement, and 38% were straight pleas with no agreement. No mandatory minimum prison term applied to the 11 people with that information recorded.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 13 people, 4 (31%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request applied to 4 people (31%), and below the range without a government request applied to 5 people (38%). No sentence was above the range.
For all 94 districts, 63% of burglary and trespass sentences were within the range. The district's share was lower. For all offenses in this district, the share was 59%.
Guidelines, Restitution, and Supervised Release
The most common primary guideline was §2B2.1 (Burglary of a Residence or a Structure Other than a Residence), with 12 people. One person was sentenced under §2B2.3 (Trespass).
Restitution was ordered for 10 people (77%). No fine was ordered. Supervised release was ordered for 9 people (69%), and the median term was 12 months.
Criminal History and a Short Time Span
In criminal history, 31% were in the lowest category, category I, and 8% were in the highest, VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The district had 7 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 6 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025, but the table has entries only through fiscal year 2022. A fiscal year starts on October 1 and ends the following September. Each year had between 2 and 4 people.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 | 15 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2017 | 3 | 11.7 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2020 | 2 | 19.4 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2021 | 2 | 27 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2022 | 2 | 12.5 months | 2 of 2 |
What the Records Do Not Cover
Burglary and trespass cases were less than 1% of the 29,766 people sentenced in the district. The records do not describe where any offense happened or why a sentence was higher or lower in one case than in another.
Only people convicted and sentenced are counted. Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, and Kirtland AFB are in this district, and courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of New Mexico (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New Mexico") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Burglary/Trespass" (13). 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.
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 District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Kidnapping Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal National Defense Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Tax Offense Sentences in the District of New Mexico, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of New Mexico, 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.