Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025
In the District of South Dakota, 703 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 14% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district. 664 (94%) received a prison term, with a median prison term of 30 months (2.5 years). That median is lower than the 42 months for firearms
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–20 › Firearms: District of South Dakota
In brief: In the District of South Dakota, 703 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 14% of the 5,041 people sentenced in the district. 664 (94%) received a prison term, with a median prison term of 30 months (2.5 years). That median is lower than the 42 months for firearms offenses across all 94 districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 703 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.
Prison Terms Were Lower Than the National Median
For this offense type, the median prison term in the district was 30 months, and the national median was 42 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 48 months or more, and a quarter received 16 months or less.
For all offenses in the district, the median was 36 months. The prison share for firearms (94%) matched the national figure for this offense type (94%).
Trials Ended in Longer Terms in the Records
678 of 703 (96%) pleaded guilty, and 25 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 30 months after a guilty plea and 63 months after a trial.
Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement. The sentencing data shows the difference in medians. It does not show what caused it.
Mandatory Minimums Were Uncommon
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 18 of the 703 people (3%). That is a small share of the group.
36 people (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The Guideline Range
The advisory guideline range is the range a judge calculates for each case. 53% (372) were within the range, 8% (58) were below it at the government's request, 37% (263) were below it without a government request, and 1% (10) were above it.
Across all 94 districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. In this district, the figure for all offenses was 57%.
Year by Year
223 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 480 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Yearly counts range from 51 to 92. The yearly median prison term was 24 months in fiscal years 2017 and 2020, and 37 months in fiscal year 2019.
Guilty pleas ranged from 94% to 99% in each year. The yearly medians move up and down without a steady direction in the table.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 51 | 33.5 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 51 | 24 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 55 | 30 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 66 | 37 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 65 | 24 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 74 | 30 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 86 | 30 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 79 | 33.5 months | 99% |
| 2024 | 92 | 33.5 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 84 | 31 months | 94% |
Guidelines, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
The primary guideline in 685 cases was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition). §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) was used in 3 cases, and §2K2.6 (Possessing, Purchasing, or Owning Body Armor by Violent Felons) in 2.
657 people (93%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 16 (2%) and restitution for 46 (7%). In criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category I and 17% in the highest VI.
Limits of the Records
Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota is in this district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts and are not part of these numbers. Acquittals and dismissals in federal court are also not in the data, because the Commission counts only people who were convicted and sentenced.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of South Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "South Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (703). 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 District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Assault Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Obscenity and Other Sex Offense Sentences in the District of South Dakota, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of South Dakota, 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.