Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Louisiana, 627 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 75% of the sentences were within the guideline range. The median prison term was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. Firearms made up 21
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY20 › Firearms: Western District of Louisiana
In brief: In the Western District of Louisiana, 627 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 75% of the sentences were within the guideline range. The median prison term was 51 months (4.2 years), compared with 42 months across all 94 federal districts. Firearms made up 21% of the district's 3,011 sentenced cases.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 627 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.
Sentences Mostly Followed the Guideline Range
The Sentencing Commission's guidelines give a recommended range for each case. In this district's firearms group, 468 of the 627 sentences (75%) were within that range.
Sentences below the range were given to 13 people (2%) at the government's request and 83 people (13%) without one. 63 sentences (10%) were above the range.
Nationally, 52% of firearms sentences were within the range, and the district's figure for all offenses was 67%.
Prison Terms
Of the 627 people, 604 (96%) received a prison term, and 22 (4%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 51 months. A quarter received 78 months or more, and a quarter received 30 months or less.
The national median for this offense type was 42 months. The median for all offenses in the district was 60 months, so firearms cases carried shorter terms than the district's cases as a whole.
One Guideline, §2K2.1
Firearms is one of the Commission's offense types. Of the 627 cases, 601 used §2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition).
3 used §2K2.5 (Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility), and 2 used §2K1.3 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials).
Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
A total of 606 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 21 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 51 months, and after a trial it was 68 months, based on 21 people. Both medians are lower than the district's median of 60 months for all offenses.
More than 99% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 47 of the 626 people with that information recorded (8%).
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release was ordered for 587 people (94%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 21 (3%), and restitution for 19 (3%).
By criminal history, 15% were in the lowest category, category I, and 23% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
More Cases in Later Years
The district sentenced 160 people in this type from fiscal year 2016 to 2019 and 467 from 2020 to 2025. The yearly table shows 21 people in 2016 and 88 in 2025.
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court, and the figures here do not describe them.
The data cover only people who were convicted and sentenced, and the records do not show why the counts rose.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 21 | 74 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 23 | 36 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 45 | 37 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 71 | 46 months | 99% |
| 2020 | 64 | 51 months | 95% |
| 2021 | 74 | 54.5 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 79 | 56.5 months | 95% |
| 2023 | 81 | 60 months | 99% |
| 2024 | 81 | 50.5 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 88 | 56.5 months | 95% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (627). 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Sexual Abuse Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.