Federal Food and Drug Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
In the District of Colorado, 10 of the 15 people sentenced for food and drug offenses (67%) received probation only, and 5 (33%) received a prison term. For all 94 districts, 32% were sent to prison. The median prison term in Colorado was 36 months, compared with 17.3 months for all districts.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 › Food and Drug Offense: District of Colorado
In brief: In the District of Colorado, 10 of the 15 people sentenced for food and drug offenses (67%) received probation only, and 5 (33%) received a prison term. For all 94 districts, 32% were sent to prison. The median prison term in Colorado was 36 months, compared with 17.3 months for all districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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.
Probation Was the Usual Result
The records list 15 people sentenced for food and drug offenses in fiscal years 2017 to 2025. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was given to 10 (67%). A prison term was given to 5 (33%).
The share sent to prison in Colorado was about the same as the share for all districts, 32%. The national group is much larger, at 451 people.
Longer Terms for the Few Sent to Prison
Among the 5 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 36 months (3 years). A quarter received 44 months or more, and a quarter received 24 months or less.
The median for all districts was 17.3 months, so the Colorado median was higher. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the median was 36 months. With only 5 people, one long term can change the median a great deal.
The Guidelines Behind These Cases
"Food and Drug" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for an offense type. The most common primary guideline in Colorado was §2N1.1 (Tampering or Attempting to Tamper Involving Risk of Death or Bodily Injury), with 7 people.
The other was §2N2.1 (Violations of Statutes and Regulations Dealing With Any Food, Drug, Biological Product, Device, Cosmetic, or Agricultural Product), with 6 people. The cases were less than 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
No Trials
All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and no one was convicted after a trial. For all districts, 98% pleaded guilty. Every guilty plea had a written plea agreement.
Since there were no trials, the records have no trial sentence to compare with the plea sentences.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The records compare each sentence with the range calculated under the Sentencing Guidelines. A sentence within the range was given to 8 of the 15 people (53%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 4 (27%), and one below the range without that request to 2 (13%). One sentence (7%) was above the range.
For all districts, 68% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the figure was 36%.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 3 people (20%), and restitution for 2 (13%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 5 (33%), with a median term of 36 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied (0 of 15). In criminal history, 87% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 0% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year
The district sentenced 10 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 5 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table lists the 7 years that have cases, with 1 to 5 people each. The median is "n/a" for 2021 and 2025.
No trend can be read from counts like these.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5 | 78 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 3 | 14 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 2 | 24 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2020 | 1 | 44 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 36 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
What Is Not Counted
The data starts at sentencing. It has nothing on acquittals or dismissals.
In this district, the installations that appear in the site's court-martial data are Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Their courts-martial are military proceedings. Nothing in these records connects them to the 15 federal cases above.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Food and Drug" (15). 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.
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 District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, 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.