> ## 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 Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/ - Published: 2026-11-04T10:32:34.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T10:32:34.000Z - Description: Firearms offenses were 22% of the 7,801 people sentenced in the Eastern District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,697 people. The median prison term was 54 months (4.5 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts for this offense type. Sentences were within the guideline - 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 North Carolina,](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) › Firearms: Eastern District of North Carolina **In brief:** Firearms offenses were 22% of the 7,801 people sentenced in the Eastern District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,697 people. The median prison term was 54 months (4.5 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 districts for this offense type. Sentences were within the guideline range for 62% of these cases. 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 1,697 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/). ## The Median Prison Term Is Higher Than the National Median Among the 1,638 people (97%) who received a prison term, the median was 54 months. A quarter received 85 months or more, and a quarter received 32 months or less. The same offense type across all 94 districts covers 78,851 people. In those districts, 94% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 42 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 50 people (3%). The prison terms here are the terms imposed, not time served. ## What Firearms Cases Include The Commission's "Firearms" offense type groups cases by the primary guideline used at sentencing. In this district, 1,622 people were sentenced under §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition). The few others were under §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility) with 2, §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 2, and §2K1.5 (Possessing Dangerous Weapons or Materials While Boarding or Aboard an Aircraft) with 1. ## Against the Guideline Range Sentences were within the guideline range for 62% of people (1,047). That is higher than the 52% across all 94 districts for this offense type and higher than the 56% for all offenses in this district. Another 18% (311) were below the range without a government request, and 14% (242) were below it at the government's request. Sentences were above the range for 6% (96). ## Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements Guilty pleas were 98% of the cases (1,664), and 33 people were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 54 months after a guilty plea and 104 months after a trial, based on 32 people sent to prison. A written agreement covered 63% of guilty pleas, and 37% were straight pleas with no agreement. The records do not show why the trial group received longer terms. ## Mandatory Minimums and Supervision A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 233 of the 1,694 people with that information recorded (14%). Supervised release followed prison for 1,629 people (96%), with a median term of 36 months. One person received supervised release for life. A fine was ordered for 83 people (5%) and restitution for 51 (3%). ## Criminal History and Yearly Counts In the Commission's data, 9% were in the lowest criminal history category and 22% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 582 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 1,115\. The yearly median prison term runs from 47 months to 65.5 months in the table. Each fiscal year starts on October 1. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 119 | 50.5 months | 97% | | 2017 | 105 | 60 months | 98% | | 2018 | 153 | 65.5 months | 99% | | 2019 | 205 | 48 months | 98% | | 2020 | 177 | 47 months | 99% | | 2021 | 245 | 56 months | 98% | | 2022 | 201 | 48 months | 96% | | 2023 | 185 | 60 months | 98% | | 2024 | 150 | 60 months | 99% | | 2025 | 157 | 54 months | 99% | ## Installations and What the Records Leave Out Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, and Seymour Johnson AFB are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these federal figures are not about them. Only convicted and sentenced people are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are missing, as are the facts of each case. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,697). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-north-carolina/) (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.