Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 632 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 92% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 44 months. The 17 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 100 months, compared with 41 months
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, F › Firearms: Western District of Pennsylvania
In brief: In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 632 people were sentenced for firearms offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Of those, 92% received a prison term, and the median prison term was 44 months. The 17 people convicted after a trial had a median prison term of 100 months, compared with 41 months after a guilty plea.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 632 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.
Trials and Guilty Pleas
Of the 632 people, 615 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 17 were convicted after a trial. The 97% guilty plea share matches the share across all 94 federal districts for firearms offenses.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 41 months. After a trial it was 100 months, based on 17 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. These are different groups of cases. The records do not say why any case went to trial.
Among guilty pleas, 79% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Prison Terms and Probation
Of the 632 people, 582 (92%) received a prison term, and 30 (5%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. One person received a life sentence.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 44 months (3.7 years). A quarter received 71.8 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.
The figures for all districts are 94% sent to prison and a median of 42 months. Both were about the same here. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 48 months.
Position Against the Guideline Range
Of the 632 people, 264 (42%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 185 (29%) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 155 (25%) were sentenced below it without a government request. A total of 28 (4%) were sentenced above the range.
The share within the range across all districts was 52%, which is higher than the share here. For all offenses in this district, 38% were within the range.
Mandatory Minimums and Criminal History
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 81 of the 622 people with that information recorded (13%).
In criminal history, 16% were in the lowest category and 19% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so that comparison is not available for military cases.
The Guidelines Behind the Category
The Commission assigns the offense type from the primary guideline. Firearms cases were 14% of the 4,460 people sentenced in this district in the period.
§2K2.1 (Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition) was the primary guideline for 559 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) was the primary guideline for 1.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 575 people (91%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 14 people (2%), and restitution for 25 (4%).
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 186 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 446. The table has one row per fiscal year (October through September). The yearly counts range from 29 to 98 people, and the yearly medians range from 30 months to 67.5 months. Fiscal year 2016 had the smallest count.
Everyone in these numbers was convicted and sentenced. People who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed are not counted. The prison terms are the terms ordered at sentencing, which is not the same as time served, and no case facts are included.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 29 | 67.5 months | 90% |
| 2017 | 56 | 48 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 45 | 47 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 56 | 46 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 53 | 35 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 57 | 40 months | 98% |
| 2022 | 87 | 37 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 98 | 43.5 months | 97% |
| 2024 | 75 | 30 months | 97% |
| 2025 | 76 | 47 months | 97% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Firearms" (632). 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 Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Money Laundering Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, 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.