§2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017
In fiscal year 2017, 11 of the 12 sentences (92%) under §2K2.5 were within the guideline range, and 1 was above it. 7 of the 12 people (58%) received prison, with a median prison term of 10.5 months. All 12 pleaded guilty.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal › §2K2.5: FY2017
In brief: In fiscal year 2017, 11 of the 12 sentences (92%) under §2K2.5 were within the guideline range, and 1 was above it. 7 of the 12 people (58%) received prison, with a median prison term of 10.5 months. All 12 pleaded guilty.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 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.
Nearly All Sentences Were Within the Range
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 12 people sentenced in fiscal year 2017 whose primary guideline was §2K2.5. 11 sentences (92%) were within the guideline range and 1 (8%) was above it. None was below the range.
The prior fiscal year, 2016, had 80% of sentences within the range, and the next year, 2018, had 75%. For all years from 2016 to 2025, the figure was 73%, so 2017 was higher than the full period.
The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017.
Prison, Probation, and Supervised Release
7 of the 12 people (58%) received a prison term. 3 (25%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The median prison term among those sent to prison was 10.5 months.
A quarter of them received 12.3 months or more, and a quarter received 0.6 months or less. 7 people (58%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, and the median supervised release term was 36 months.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
12 of 12 people (100%) pleaded guilty. Nobody in this group was convicted after a trial. 58% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement and 33% were straight pleas with no agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 11 people with that information recorded. The data covers only convicted and sentenced people, so it cannot show how many firearm charges ended in acquittal or dismissal.
Money Orders and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 2 people (17%). No one was ordered to pay restitution (0).
42% of the people were in the lowest criminal history category, category I, and 8% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records do not have a criminal history field.
The Guideline Over All Years and Against All Federal Cases
Under §2K2.5, 132 people were sentenced from fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 59% went to prison, the median prison term was 11.2 months, and 98% pleaded guilty. The 2017 median was close to that overall median, and the 2017 share sent to prison was lower than 59%.
In fiscal year 2017, 66,873 people were sentenced under all guidelines. Their median prison term was 24 months, 97% pleaded guilty, and 49% of sentences were within the range. Sentences under §2K2.5 were within the range more often than the all-guideline share.
Fiscal year 2016 had a median of 7.3 months and fiscal year 2018 had a median of 10.8 months, as the table shows.
| 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 |
Reading a Small Count Carefully
With 12 people, a change in 1 case moves a percentage by several points. The numbers describe this group and should not be used to infer a trend.
The records do not say what conduct was involved or why a sentence was chosen. The guideline is titled "Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility; Possession or Discharge of Firearm in School Zone," and the Commission lists it under Firearms. No close court-martial counterpart exists in the crosswalk, so the post reports federal numbers only.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2017 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K2.5 (12), 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 2016 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: 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.