Federal Robbery Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025
131 people were sentenced for robbery offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 131 received a prison term. The median was 108 months, compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. 39% of sentences were within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 › Robbery: District of Nebraska
In brief: 131 people were sentenced for robbery offenses in the District of Nebraska in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and all 131 received a prison term. The median was 108 months, compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. 39% of sentences were within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 131 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.
Prison Terms Higher Than the National Median
All 131 people (100%) received a prison term. The median was 108 months, or 9 years. A quarter received 172 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. A life sentence went to 2 people.
For robbery in all 94 districts, the median was 90 months. For all offenses in the District of Nebraska, it was 57 months. Robbery cases here therefore carried higher median terms than both.
Plea and Trial Outcomes
120 of 131 people (92%) pleaded guilty, and 11 were convicted after a trial. For all offenses in this district, 97% pleaded guilty, and for robbery in all districts the figure was 95%.
The median prison term was 103.5 months after a guilty plea and 270 months after a trial. Among those who pleaded guilty, 86% had a written plea agreement and 14% were straight pleas. These medians describe different groups of cases and do not show what any one person would have received.
Against the Guideline Range
51 people (39%) were sentenced within the guideline range, compared with 40% for robbery in all districts and 48% for all offenses in this district. 44 people (34%) were below the range at the government's request, and 20 (15%) were below it without a government request. 16 people (12%) were above the range.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 69 people (53%).
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 | 136 months | 82% |
| 2017 | 6 | 60 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2018 | 20 | 84 months | 95% |
| 2019 | 22 | 108 months | 95% |
| 2020 | 14 | 151.5 months | 93% |
| 2021 | 7 | 144 months | 6 of 7 |
| 2022 | 15 | 84 months | 80% |
| 2023 | 20 | 90.5 months | 95% |
| 2024 | 9 | 180 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2025 | 1 | 130 months | 1 of 1 |
A Small Count in Each Year
The yearly table has counts that run from 1 to 22 people. The median was 60 months in fiscal year 2017 and 180 months in fiscal year 2024. Fiscal year 2025 has 1 person, so its median of 130 months rests on one person.
65 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 66 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September. With counts this small, the yearly medians are not trends.
What Counts as Robbery
"Robbery" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. All 131 cases in this district used the same primary guideline, §2B3.1 (Robbery).
Robbery made up 3% of the 4,887 sentencing cases in the district across the 10 fiscal years.
Supervision After Prison, Restitution, and Prior Records
Supervised release followed prison for every one of the 131 people. The median term was 36 months. 100 people (76%) were ordered to pay restitution, and the data lists 0 fines.
The lowest criminal history category held 20% of the people, and the highest held 20%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no military counterpart for this item.
Limits of This Data
Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear here, so acquittals and dismissals cannot be counted. Each prison term is the term imposed by the court, and the time actually served may differ. The records do not describe how any robbery happened.
Offutt AFB, Nebraska, lies in this district. A court-martial is held in a military court and not in this federal court, so none of these numbers describe military cases.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Nebraska (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Nebraska") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (131). 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 Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Nebraska, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Nebraska, 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.