Federal Burglary and Trespass Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025
All 12 people sentenced for burglary or trespass offenses in the Eastern District of Texas in fiscal years 2017 to 2024 pleaded guilty, and all 12 received a prison term. The median prison term was 31.5 months (2.6 years). For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, the median was 18 months.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2 › Burglary and Trespass: Eastern District of Texas
In brief: All 12 people sentenced for burglary or trespass offenses in the Eastern District of Texas in fiscal years 2017 to 2024 pleaded guilty, and all 12 received a prison term. The median prison term was 31.5 months (2.6 years). For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, the median was 18 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 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.
A Small Group With One Guideline
The Commission counted 12 people in this category, all sentenced under the same primary guideline: §2B2.1 (Burglary of a Residence or a Structure Other than a Residence). The 12 people are less than 1% of the 7,998 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
The records list cases only from fiscal years 2017 to 2024. The district sentenced 4 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 people in fiscal years 2020 to 2025.
How Long Were the Prison Terms?
The median prison term was 31.5 months. A quarter of the group received 42 months or more, and a quarter received 23.2 months or less. The terms are those imposed, not the time served.
After prison, all 12 people were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 10 people (83%), and no fine was ordered. No mandatory minimum was recorded for any of the 12.
Longer Than the National Median, Shorter Than the District's Overall One
For burglary and trespass in all 94 districts, the Commission counted 674 people. 80% went to prison and the median prison term was 18 months. In this district the prison rate was 100% and the median was 31.5 months.
The district's median for all offenses was 64.5 months, which is higher than the burglary and trespass median.
Plea Agreements and Criminal History
Every person pleaded guilty, and every plea had a written plea agreement. Across all districts, 97% of people in this category pleaded guilty, and across all offenses in this district the rate was 98%.
Only 8% of the group was in the lowest criminal history category, and 17% was in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Within the Guideline Range
A guideline range is calculated for each case from the Commission's manual. Of the 12 people, 9 (75%) were sentenced within the range. 1 person (8%) was sentenced below it at the government's request, and 2 (17%) were sentenced above it. No one was below the range without a government request.
In all districts, 63% of sentences for this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in this district the figure was 64%.
Yearly Figures
The table shows the years that have cases. Fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2021 each have 4 people, and the other years have 1 or 2. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the following September. With groups this small, the medians move with each case and do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 4 | 42 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 4 | 18 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2022 | 2 | 25.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 33 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 84 months | 1 of 1 |
What the Records Do Not Cover
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in this data. The records do not include acquittals or dismissals, and they do not describe where or how an offense happened or why a sentence was chosen.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Texas East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Burglary/Trespass" (12). 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 Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of Texas, 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.