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# Federal Other Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-sentences-district-of-colorado/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:09:40.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:09:40.000Z
- Description: Of 78 people sentenced in the District of Colorado in the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 38 (49%) received probation only and 30 (38%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 2 months, compared with 36 months for all offenses in the district. Th
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) › Other Offense: District of Colorado

**In brief:** Of 78 people sentenced in the District of Colorado in the Sentencing Commission's "Other" offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 38 (49%) received probation only and 30 (38%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 2 months, compared with 36 months for all offenses in the district. This category is a mix of unrelated offenses, so its numbers describe no single crime.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 78 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Probation Was the Most Common Result

Among the 78 people, 38 (49%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A prison term went to 30 (38%). For the offense type in all 94 districts, 38% were sent to prison.

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 2 months. A quarter received 5.8 months or more, and a quarter received 0.3 months or less. For all districts, the median was 0.2 months. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.

## What "Other" Contains

"Other" is one of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense types. It collects cases that do not fit the named categories, so it does not describe one kind of crime.

The most common primary guideline in Colorado was §2D2.2 (Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge), with 15 people. Next were §2X5.2 (Class A Misdemeanors (Not Covered by Another Specific Offense Guideline)), with 14, and §2A5.2 (Interference with Flight Crew Member or Flight Attendant), with 12\. One person was sentenced under §2D1.12 (Unlawful Possession, Manufacture, Distribution, Transportation, Exportation, or Importation of Prohibited Flask, Equipment, Chemical, Product, or Material).

These cases were 2% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district.

## Pleas and Trials

A total of 76 of 78 people (97%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 98% pleaded guilty.

The median prison term was 2 months after a guilty plea and 4 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 2 people and cannot support a comparison.

Among guilty pleas, 97% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Sentences Against the Guideline Range

The guideline range is the sentencing range calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The records show this for 54 people. A sentence within the range was given to 37 (69%). A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 7 (13%), and one below without that request to 10 (19%). No sentence was above the range (0%).

For all districts, 90% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the figure was 36%.

## Fines, Supervised Release, and Criminal History

A fine was ordered for 40 people (51%), and restitution for 6 (8%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 25 (32%), with a median term of 12 months.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 35 people with that information recorded (0%).

In criminal history, 49% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 9% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

The district sentenced 21 people in this category in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 57 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The fiscal year runs from October 1 through the end of the following September.

Yearly counts range from 3 to 14 people. The table shows a median of 10 months in 2022 and 0.1 months in 2024, and 2019 has no median. These are too small to read as a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 8                | 2 months      | 7 of 8         |
| 2017        | 5                | 4 months      | 4 of 5         |
| 2018        | 4                | 4 months      | 4 of 4         |
| 2019        | 4                | n/a           | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 8                | 1.1 months    | 8 of 8         |
| 2021        | 9                | 1.7 months    | 9 of 9         |
| 2022        | 13               | 10 months     | 100%           |
| 2023        | 14               | 1.1 months    | 100%           |
| 2024        | 10               | 0.1 months    | 100%           |
| 2025        | 3                | 12 months     | 3 of 3         |

## Limits of the Records

The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it.

Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy appear in this site's court-martial data and are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court, and no link is drawn between the installations and these federal cases.

### 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 "Other" (78). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.