§2K2.6 Possessing, Purchasing, or Owning Body Armor by Violent Felons: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
Among 13 people sentenced under guideline §2K2.6 in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 11 (85%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 20 months. 11 pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial.
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 6 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2K2.6
In brief: Among 13 people sentenced under guideline §2K2.6 in fiscal years 2016 to 2024, 11 (85%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 20 months. 11 pleaded guilty and 2 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 13 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.
Mostly Prison, With a Median of 20 Months
Of the 13 people sentenced under §2K2.6, 11 (85%) received a prison term. One person (8%) received probation only. The median prison term was 20 months.
A quarter of those sent to prison received 25.5 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less.
The Guideline in Plain Words
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2K2.6 "Possessing, Purchasing, or Owning Body Armor by Violent Felons." The title names possessing, purchasing, or owning body armor, and it refers to violent felons.
The Sentencing Commission classes all 13 cases as Firearms offenses.
Trials Versus Pleas
A total of 11 of 13 people (85%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 15 months. After a trial it was 25.5 months, based on 2 people.
The trial figure comes from only 2 people, so it cannot be treated as a typical result. Of the guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement.
Above and Below the Range
The sentence was within the guideline range for 10 people (77%). It was below the range at the government's request for 1 person (8%). It was above the range for 2 people (15%). None was below the range without a government request.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 13 cases.
Criminal History
Criminal history was the unusual feature of this guideline. Only 8% of the people were in the lowest category I, and 15% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so no comparison can be made.
The sheet does not say how the Commission defines a violent felon for this section, so the title is the only description used here.
Supervised Release and Fines
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 11 people (85%), with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (23%), and restitution for 0.
Years Compared
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 7 people and a median prison term of 16 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 6 people and a median of 27 months. The later median is higher, but both groups are small.
The yearly table runs from 8 months in 2016 to 36 months in 2024, with 1 to 3 people in each year.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 8 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2017 | 3 | 16 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 1 | 21 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 3 | 21 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2021 | 1 | 15 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 1 | 27 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | 36 months | 1 of 1 |
Reading the Medians
The overall median of 20 months sits between the quarter values of 10 months and 25.5 months. That is a moderate spread. Guilty pleas had a median of 15 months, which is lower than the overall median and lower than the trial median.
The 2022 row in the table shows 0 of 1 pleaded guilty and a median of 27 months. That row is the one person in that year, so it is a single case.
Limits
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2K2.6 (13), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's 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)
- §2K2.1 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Firearms or Ammunition: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2K1.4 Arson: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2K1.3 Unlawful Receipt, Possession, or Transportation of Explosive Materials: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2K2.5 Possession of Firearm or Dangerous Weapon in Federal Facility: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2K1.1 Failure to Report Theft of Explosive Materials: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.