Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025
549 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 505 (92%) went to prison, with a median prison term of 37 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. 13% had a mandatory minimum prison term.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY201 › Firearms: Eastern District of New York
In brief: 549 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 505 (92%) went to prison, with a median prison term of 37 months, compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. 13% had a mandatory minimum prison term.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 549 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 Median Prison Term for Firearms Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission lists 549 people in this district under the offense type "Firearms." These were 9% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the district. 505 (92%) received a prison term, and 33 (6%) received probation only.
The median prison term was 37 months (3.1 years). A quarter received 60 months or more, and a quarter received 21 months or less. The all-district median was 42 months, and 94% of people nationally went to prison. In all offenses in this district, the median was 27 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Plea Rates and the Gap After Trial
529 of the 549 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 20 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 37 months after a guilty plea and 72 months after a trial, based on 20 people.
Among guilty pleas, 85% had a written plea agreement, and 15% were straight pleas with no agreement. The national guilty plea rate for this offense type was 97%.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. 43% of the sentences (236 people) were within it. 10% (56 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 41% (226 people) were below the range without a government request. 5% (30 people) were above the range.
Across all districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 24%. The firearms share here was lower than the national figure for this type and higher than the district's overall rate.
Mandatory Minimums and Guidelines
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 70 of the 549 people with that information recorded (13%).
The primary guideline for almost all of these cases was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), with 486 people. Others were §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials), with 2 people, §2K2.6 (Possessing, Purchasing, or Owning Body Armor by Violent Felons), with 1 person, and §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility), with 1 person.
Release, Fines, and Criminal History
497 people (91%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median term was 36 months. A fine was ordered for 7 people (1%), and restitution for 16 (3%).
In criminal history, 15% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 12% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Cases by Fiscal Year
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 188 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 361. The table shows yearly counts from 27 people in fiscal year 2016 to 81 in fiscal year 2022. Yearly medians ranged from 25.5 months to 50 months. The records cannot show what drove the changes.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 27 | 25.5 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 58 | 42 months | 91% |
| 2018 | 51 | 49.5 months | 86% |
| 2019 | 52 | 36 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 36 | 37 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 55 | 27 months | 96% |
| 2022 | 81 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 75 | 41 months | 96% |
| 2024 | 65 | 50 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 49 | 45.5 months | 100% |
Limits of the Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission data, and the records do not describe the facts of individual cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (549). 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 Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, 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.