§2K1.3 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
Fiscal year 2017 was the largest year in the table for §2K1.3, with 30 people sentenced. Of the 30, 23 (77%) received prison, the median prison term was 18 months, and all 30 (100%) pleaded guilty. 13 sentences (43%) were within the guideline range.
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2K1.3 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Ex › §2K1.3: FY2017
In brief: Fiscal year 2017 was the largest year in the table for §2K1.3, with 30 people sentenced. Of the 30, 23 (77%) received prison, the median prison term was 18 months, and all 30 (100%) pleaded guilty. 13 sentences (43%) were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 30 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017. 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.
Every Person Pleaded Guilty
All 30 people sentenced in fiscal year 2017 under §2K1.3 pleaded guilty, so none was convicted after a trial. Federal court overall had a guilty plea rate of 97% that year, and the rate here was higher.
Among the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 30 people.
This guideline is titled "Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials; Prohibited Transactions Involving Explosive Materials" in the Guidelines Manual. The Commission counts these cases under its firearms offense type.
Prison, Probation, and Release
Of the 30 people, 23 (77%) received a prison term. Another 3 (10%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
The median prison term was 18 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 31.5 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less. The previous year, fiscal year 2016, had a median of 30 months, which was higher. The next year, fiscal year 2018, had a median of 33 months, which was also higher.
Supervised release was ordered for 21 people (70%), with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 (10%), and restitution for 2 (7%).
Position Against the Guideline Range
13 sentences (43%) were within the range. 5 people (17%) were below the range at the government's request, and 10 (33%) were below it without a request. 2 sentences (7%) were above the range.
The 10-year share of sentences within the range under §2K1.3 was 34%, and for all guidelines in fiscal year 2017 it was 49%. The 2017 share under this guideline was higher than the first and lower than the second.
Criminal History
In this year's group, 43% were in the lowest criminal history category I, and 10% were in the highest VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is nothing to set beside these figures on the military side.
Where Fiscal Year 2017 Fits
Fiscal year 2017 ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017. For all guidelines, 66,873 people were sentenced in that year, with a median prison term of 24 months.
Across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 185 people were sentenced under §2K1.3. Of them, 77% went to prison, and the median prison term was 18 months. Guilty pleas were more than 99%.
The table lists each year. Counts run from 6 to 30, which are small numbers, and the records do not explain why one year is larger than another.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 20 | 30 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 30 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 17 | 33 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 27 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 19 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 17 | 20.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 6 | 24.5 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2023 | 20 | 16.5 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 14 | 18 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 15 | 6.2 months | 100% |
Limits of the Data
Only people convicted and sentenced appear here. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Prison terms are those imposed, not served.
No close court-martial counterpart for this guideline is in the approved crosswalk, so the post reports federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K1.3 (30), U.S. Sentencing Commission individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count.
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)
- §2K1.3 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2K1.3 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2K1.3 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.