§2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2016
In fiscal year 2016, 10 people were sentenced in federal court with §2K2.5 as the primary guideline. 7 of the 10 (70%) received a prison term, and the median among them was 7.3 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 64.7 months or more.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal › §2K2.5: FY2016
In brief: In fiscal year 2016, 10 people were sentenced in federal court with §2K2.5 as the primary guideline. 7 of the 10 (70%) received a prison term, and the median among them was 7.3 months. A quarter of those sent to prison received 64.7 months or more.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 10 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016. 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.
10 People Sentenced Under §2K2.5 in Fiscal Year 2016
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 10 people sentenced in fiscal year 2016 whose primary guideline was §2K2.5. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility; Possession or Discharge of Firearm in School Zone." The Commission puts these cases in its Firearms offense type.
The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016. A group of 10 is small, so each person is 10% of the total and the percentages in this post should be read with that in mind.
A Wide Spread of Prison Terms
7 of the 10 people (70%) received a prison term, and 3 (30%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among the 7 was 7.3 months.
The spread was wide. A quarter of those sent to prison received 1.5 months or less, and a quarter received 64.7 months or more. The median alone does not show that range.
7 people (70%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 12 months. The prison terms are those imposed, not the time served.
Everyone Pleaded Guilty
All 10 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 60% had a written plea agreement and 40% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Because the Commission data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, acquittals and dismissals are not part of it.
Position Against the Guideline Range and Mandatory Minimums
8 of the 10 sentences (80%) were within the guideline range, and 2 (20%) were above it. None was below the range. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 10 people.
The next fiscal year, 2017, had 12 people under this guideline and 92% of sentences within the range.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 3 people (30%). Restitution was ordered for 0 (0%).
In criminal history, 60% of the people were in the lowest category, category I, and 20% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
How 2016 Compares With the All-Years Totals and With All Guidelines
From fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 132 people were sentenced under §2K2.5. 59% were sent to prison, the median prison term was 11.2 months, 98% pleaded guilty, and 73% of sentences were within the range. The fiscal year 2016 median of 7.3 months was lower than the median for all years, and the share within the range was higher.
For every guideline combined in fiscal year 2016, 67,742 people were sentenced. The median prison term was 24 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 49% of sentences were within the range.
The yearly table below lists each year's count, median prison term, and plea share for this guideline.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 7.3 months | 100% |
| 2017 | 12 | 10.5 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 12 | 10.8 months | 92% |
| 2019 | 17 | 5 months | 94% |
| 2020 | 17 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 10 | 5.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 12 | 13.9 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 21 | 18.5 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 12 | 18.7 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 9 | 10 months | 9 of 9 |
What the Records Cannot Show
The records do not show the facts behind any firearm case or why one person received probation and another a long prison term. There is no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline in the crosswalk used here, so the post reports the federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2016 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K2.5 (10), 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)
- §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (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.