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# Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:08:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:08:09.000Z
- Description: 756 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 17% of everyone sentenced there. 95% received a prison term, with a median of 47.5 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts.
- 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 Eastern District of California, FY2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-california/) › Firearms: Eastern District of California

**In brief:** 756 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 17% of everyone sentenced there. 95% received a prison term, with a median of 47.5 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts.

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 756 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 Were Longer Than the National Median

716 of the 756 people (95%) were sent to prison, and 36 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 47.5 months, or 4 years. A quarter received 63.9 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less.

For all districts together, firearms had 78,851 people, 94% sent to prison, and a median of 42 months. The median in this district was higher. For all offenses in the Eastern District of California, the median was 48 months, which is about the same as the 47.5 months for firearms.

## Few Mandatory Minimums

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 46 of the 756 people with that information recorded (6%). That is a small share of the group.

Almost all cases used one primary guideline: §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), with 724 people. §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) had 3, and §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) had 1\. Firearms is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type.

## 55% Were Within the Guideline Range

55% of sentences (415 people) were within the guideline range. 28% (212 people) were below the range without a government request, 13% (95 people) were below it at the government's request, and 4% (34 people) were above it.

In all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. In this district, the figure for all offenses was 40%, so firearms cases were within the range more often than the district's cases overall.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

742 of 756 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 14 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 46.5 months after a guilty plea and 52.5 months after a trial, based on 14 people.

Those medians are close. 91% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 9% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release and Criminal History

696 people (92%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 18 people (2%), and restitution for 16 (2%).

16% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 34% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field. A high share in category VI is one feature of this group that sets it apart from drug trafficking and fraud cases in the same district.

## Yearly Totals

318 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019, and 438 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

In the table, yearly counts run from 52 in 2017 to 104 in 2019, and yearly medians run from 42 months in 2020 to 51 months in 2016\. The medians stay in a narrow band.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 85               | 51 months     | 96%            |
| 2017        | 52               | 50 months     | 94%            |
| 2018        | 77               | 48 months     | 100%           |
| 2019        | 104              | 44 months     | 100%           |
| 2020        | 79               | 42 months     | 100%           |
| 2021        | 69               | 47 months     | 100%           |
| 2022        | 69               | 50.5 months   | 96%            |
| 2023        | 73               | 46 months     | 100%           |
| 2024        | 75               | 46 months     | 100%           |
| 2025        | 73               | 50 months     | 93%            |

## What the Records Do Not Show

Anyone whose case ended without a conviction is not counted, so acquittals and dismissals cannot be read from this data.

The terms shown are those ordered by the court, and release dates or time served are not included.

The installations in the data, Beale AFB, Edwards AFB, and Travis AFB, are in the district. Their courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these federal totals stand alone.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (756). 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 Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-california/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (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.