Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
Drug trafficking was 38% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the Western District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 2,856 people. 2,672 (94%) received a prison term, and the median was 96 months (8 years), compared with 60 months for all 94 federal districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY201 › Drug Trafficking: Western District of Missouri
In brief: Drug trafficking was 38% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the Western District of Missouri in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 2,856 people. 2,672 (94%) received a prison term, and the median was 96 months (8 years), compared with 60 months for all 94 federal districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,856 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.
The Largest Offense Type in the District
Of everyone sentenced in this district over the period, 38% were in the drug trafficking offense type. The U.S. Sentencing Commission assigns this type from each case's primary sentencing guideline. Nearly all of these cases, 2,837 of 2,856, used §2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses)).
Smaller groups used §2D1.2 (Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals) for 10, §2D1.8 (Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment) for 5, and §2D1.5 (Continuing Criminal Enterprise) for 2.
Prison Terms Compared With the National Figure
173 people (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts, 96% of the 185,188 people in this offense type were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison here, a quarter received 144 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 72 months, so drug trafficking terms were longer than the district's typical term.
Mandatory Minimums Were Common
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2,091 of the 2,855 people with that information recorded (73%). The records do not show how much each minimum affected an individual sentence.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 2,672 people (94%), with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 14 (less than 1%), and restitution for 29 (1%).
Guilty Pleas and Trials
2,806 of 2,856 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 50 were convicted after a trial. Of the guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% were straight pleas.
The median prison term was 96 months after a guilty plea and 240 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 50 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
How Often Sentences Matched the Guideline Range
The range was recorded for all 2,856 people. 26% (730) were within it. 40% (1,134) were below it at the government's request, and 32% (900) were below it without a government request. 3% (92) were above it.
For all districts, 32% of drug trafficking sentences were within the range, and for all offenses in this district, 38% were. In criminal history, 27% were in category I, the lowest, and 26% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Year-by-Year Changes in Median Terms
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 1,201 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 1,655. The table lists a median of 84 months for fiscal year 2016 and 113 months for fiscal year 2025, with 120 months in fiscal year 2021, the highest listed. Fiscal year 2021 also had the fewest people, 189.
Guilty plea rates stayed between 97% and 100% in every year. The records cannot show why the yearly medians differ.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 312 | 84 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 320 | 81.5 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 303 | 84 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 266 | 97 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 236 | 96 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 189 | 120 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 324 | 100 months | more than 99% |
| 2023 | 316 | 101 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 339 | 108 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 251 | 113 months | 98% |
What This Data Excludes
These figures describe only people who were convicted and sentenced. Dismissed cases and acquittals are not counted, and the terms are those imposed, not served.
Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman AFB lie within this district. Their courts-martial are tried in military courts, and none of the numbers above come from them.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Trafficking" (2,856). 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 Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, 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.