Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
All 368 people sentenced for robbery in the District of Maryland in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. Robbery cases were 6% of the district's 6,044 sentenced people.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 › Robbery: District of Maryland
In brief: All 368 people sentenced for robbery in the District of Maryland in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 120 months (10 years), compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. Robbery cases were 6% of the district's 6,044 sentenced people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 368 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.
Every Robbery Sentence Included Prison
Of the 368 people, 368 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. The median prison term was 120 months (10 years). A quarter received 151 months or more, and a quarter received 84 months or less.
For robbery in all 94 districts, 99% were sent to prison, and the median was 90 months. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, the median was 48 months. The Maryland robbery median was higher than both.
Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 167 of the 368 people (45%). That is the figure recorded for these cases, and the sheet gives no all-district comparison for it.
Below the guideline range at the government's request were 175 people (48%). Within the range were 107 (29%), above it were 46 (13%), and below it without a government request were 40 (11%). For robbery in all 94 districts, 40% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 31%.
Plea and Trial Outcomes
A total of 350 of the 368 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 18 were convicted after a trial. The all-district robbery figure was 95%, and for all offenses in the district it was 95%.
The median prison term was 120 months after a guilty plea and 222 months after a trial. The trial figure is based on 18 people. Among guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Which Guideline Applied?
Robbery is the Commission's name for the offense type. The primary guideline was §2B3.1 (Robbery) for 365 people. Another 2 people had §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) as the primary guideline.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
After prison, 365 people (more than 99%) were ordered to serve supervised release. The median term was 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 207 people (56%), and a fine for 1 (less than 1%).
In criminal history, 22% were in the lowest category and 24% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The Years in Order
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 217 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 151. Yearly counts in the table run from 67 in fiscal year 2018 to 16 in fiscal year 2024. The yearly median prison term stayed between 96 months and 130 months.
A fiscal year begins in October and ends the following September. The records do not explain why counts changed.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 49 | 130 months | 94% |
| 2017 | 42 | 120 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 67 | 120 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 59 | 108 months | 97% |
| 2020 | 27 | 96 months | 96% |
| 2021 | 31 | 120 months | 94% |
| 2022 | 28 | 114 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 21 | 125 months | 95% |
| 2024 | 16 | 120 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 28 | 120 months | 93% |
Limits on What These Figures Show
The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not included. The prison terms are those imposed, not time served, and no facts of any case are given.
Fort Meade, Maryland, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal district court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (368). 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.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
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)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- 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.