> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-arizona/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:08:12.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:08:12.000Z - Description: The District of Arizona sentenced 1,299 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. Only 30% were sentenced within the guideline range. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-arizona/) › Firearms: District of Arizona **In brief:** The District of Arizona sentenced 1,299 people for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. The median prison term was 21 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. Only 30% were sentenced within the guideline range. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,299 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Prison Terms Compared With All Districts Of the 1,299 people, 1,010 (78%) received a prison term, and 266 (20%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term was 21 months. A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less. For all 94 districts, 94% of 78,851 people were sent to prison, and the median was 42 months. The terms are those imposed, not time served. ## How Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range The range was recorded for 1,293 people. Of those, 30% (389) were within it, 38% (495) were below it at the government's request, and 30% (390) were below it without a request. About 1% (19) were above it. Across all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 35% were within it. ## Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums Of the 1,299 people, 1,273 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 26 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 93% had a written plea agreement and 7% did not. After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 21 months. After a trial, it was 38.5 months, based on 24 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 48 of the 1,298 people with that information recorded (4%). ## Guidelines Used "Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. The primary guideline for most was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), used for 1,245 people. Other guidelines were §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) for 4, §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) for 2, and §2K1.5 (Possessing Dangerous Weapons or Materials While Boarding or Aboard an Aircraft) for 1\. These cases were 3% of the 47,716 people sentenced in the district. ## Supervised Release and Other Orders Supervised release was ordered for 1,001 people (77%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 96 (7%), and restitution for 28 (2%). In criminal history, 54% were in the lowest category I and 5% in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. ## Year-by-Year Changes Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 509 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 790\. The yearly count was 74 in fiscal year 2020 and 201 in fiscal year 2024. The median was 28 months in fiscal year 2022 and 15 months in fiscal year 2024\. The records cannot show what caused these differences. Davis-Monthan AFB, Fort Huachuca, Luke AFB, and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 101 | 21 months | 97% | | 2017 | 122 | 18 months | 100% | | 2018 | 125 | 24 months | 94% | | 2019 | 161 | 25.2 months | 98% | | 2020 | 74 | 18 months | 96% | | 2021 | 80 | 24 months | 99% | | 2022 | 84 | 28 months | 96% | | 2023 | 172 | 21 months | 99% | | 2024 | 201 | 15 months | more than 99% | | 2025 | 179 | 18 months | 99% | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Arizona (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Arizona") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,299). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-arizona/) (overview) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-arizona/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-arizona/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-possession-sentences-district-of-arizona/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Arizona, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-arizona/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.