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# Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-colorado/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:09:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:09:35.000Z
- Description: Firearms cases were 21% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 905 people. 95% received a prison term, and the median was 40 months (3.3 years), which is lower than the 42 months for firearms offenses in all 94 federal districts together. Within-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 Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) › Firearms: District of Colorado

**In brief:** Firearms cases were 21% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 905 people. 95% received a prison term, and the median was 40 months (3.3 years), which is lower than the 42 months for firearms offenses in all 94 federal districts together. Within-range sentences were 49%.

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 905 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/).

## Sentences Within the Guideline Range

49% of the 905 sentences (442) were within the guideline range. Below the range at the government's request was 18% (160), below it without a government request was 30% (269), and above the range was 4% (34).

In all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, it was 36%. The guideline range is the range calculated for each case under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

## Prison Terms and Probation

861 of the 905 people (95%) received a prison term, and 34 (4%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, a quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.

For all districts, 94% were sent to prison. The median for all offenses in this district was 36 months, which is about the same as the 40 months for firearms cases. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Medians Over the Years

The yearly table shows medians of 30 months in fiscal years 2016 and 2018, and between 44 and 51 months in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. Yearly counts were between 71 and 111 people. The fiscal year runs October 1 to the end of September.

390 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 515 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The records show these figures but not why they differ.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 96               | 30 months     | 96%            |
| 2017        | 99               | 40 months     | 97%            |
| 2018        | 111              | 30 months     | 98%            |
| 2019        | 84               | 37.5 months   | 96%            |
| 2020        | 71               | 46 months     | 99%            |
| 2021        | 93               | 45 months     | 98%            |
| 2022        | 79               | 46.5 months   | 97%            |
| 2023        | 74               | 51 months     | 93%            |
| 2024        | 92               | 48 months     | 99%            |
| 2025        | 106              | 44 months     | 96%            |

## Pleas and Trials

878 of 905 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 27 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 38.5 months. After a trial it was 63 months, based on 25 people sent to prison.

Among guilty pleas, more than 99% had a written plea agreement, and less than 1% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Which Guidelines Were Used

The Commission's "Firearms" category is its own offense type. The most common primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), with 839 people. §2K2.6 (Possessing, Purchasing, or Owning Body Armor by Violent Felons) and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) each had 1.

A mandatory minimum applied to 90 of the 905 people (10%).

## Supervision, Restitution, and Criminal History

845 people (93%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 10 (1%), and restitution for 61 (7%).

By criminal history, 12% were in the lowest category and 28% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Installations and Limits

Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy are in the District of Colorado. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and the federal numbers here do not describe cases from those installations.

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, and the records give no facts about any case.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (905). 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 Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (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.