Federal Firearms Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
Firearms cases were 36% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the Middle District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,372 people. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 58 months, compared with 42 months for firearms cases in all 94 districts. Of the 1,372, 98% pleaded guilty.
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In brief: Firearms cases were 36% of the 3,816 people sentenced in the Middle District of North Carolina in fiscal years 2016 to 2025: 1,372 people. The median prison term for those sent to prison was 58 months, compared with 42 months for firearms cases in all 94 districts. Of the 1,372, 98% pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 1,372 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.
Firearms Cases Make Up a Large Part of This District's Work
In this district, 1,372 of the 3,816 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 had a firearms offense as their offense type. That is 36% of all the district's sentences.
The offense type "Firearms" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own category. It is assigned from the primary guideline used to calculate the sentence.
The most common primary guideline was §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition), used for 1,251 people. The others were §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials) with 2, §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) with 1, and §2K2.6 (Possessing, Purchasing, or Owning Body Armor by Violent Felons) with 1.
How Long Were Prison Terms?
Of the 1,372 people, 1,275 (93%) received a prison term, and 70 (5%) received probation only. The median prison term was 58 months (4.8 years).
A quarter of those sent to prison received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 36 months or less. For all 94 districts, 94% of firearms cases ended in prison, with a median of 42 months.
For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 60 months. The firearms median is about the same as that district-wide figure.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 127 | 51 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 110 | 57 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 135 | 52 months | 99% |
| 2019 | 169 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 170 | 57 months | 95% |
| 2021 | 137 | 60 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 156 | 57 months | 99% |
| 2023 | 126 | 60 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 104 | 63 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 138 | 60 months | more than 99% |
Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Plea Agreements
A total of 1,344 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 28 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 57 months. After a trial it was 115 months.
The trial figure rests on 28 people, and the groups may differ in the facts of their cases, so the comparison does not show what a trial costs a defendant.
Among the guilty pleas, 92% had a written plea agreement and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Of the 1,372 sentences, 834 (61%) were within the range.
Below the range at the government's request were 94 (7%), and below the range without a government request were 292 (21%). Above the range were 152 (11%).
For all 94 districts, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range. In this district, the share within the range was higher, and the share above the range was 11%.
Mandatory Minimums and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 179 of the 1,372 people (13%). Criminal history was spread across categories: 11% were in the lowest, category I, and 21% were in the highest, VI.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,273 people (93%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 41 people (3%), and restitution was ordered for 47 (3%).
What the Records Do Not Show
The Commission's data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. It has no acquittals or dismissals, so it cannot show how many firearms charges ended without a conviction.
Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served. The yearly counts ranged from 104 people to 170 people across the fiscal years in the table, and the records do not show why.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina Mid") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (1,372). 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 Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Robbery Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Middle District of North Carolina, 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.