Federal Robbery Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025
Of 425 people sentenced for robbery in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 413 (97%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 63 months, compared with 90 months for robbery across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 202 people (48%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY201 › Robbery: Eastern District of New York
In brief: Of 425 people sentenced for robbery in the Eastern District of New York in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 413 (97%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 63 months, compared with 90 months for robbery across all 94 federal districts. A mandatory minimum applied to 202 people (48%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 425 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.
Mandatory Minimums Were Common
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 202 of the 425 people with that information recorded (48%). A mandatory minimum is a floor written into the statute, and a court may go below it only in limited situations.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission lists 425 people under the offense type "Robbery," which was 7% of the 6,411 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Prison Terms
413 of the 425 (97%) received a prison term, and 11 (3%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 63 months (5.2 years). A quarter received 101 months or more, and a quarter received 32 months or less.
For all 94 districts, 99% of robbery sentences included prison, and the median was 90 months. The median for all offenses in this district was 27 months. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is calculated under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. 18% of the sentences (78 people) were within it. 33% (141 people) were below the range at the government's request, and 47% (198 people) were below the range without a government request. 2% (8 people) were above the range.
Across all districts, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share was 24%.
Pleas and Trials
407 of the 425 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 18 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term was 60 months after a guilty plea and 131 months after a trial, based on 18 people.
94% of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 6% were straight pleas with no agreement. Nationally, 95% of people sentenced for robbery pleaded guilty.
Guidelines Used
Almost every case used §2B3.1 (Robbery) as the primary guideline, with 422 people. A total of 2 people were sentenced under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact), and 1 under §2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy (Not Covered by a Specific Offense Guideline)).
In criminal history, 28% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 15% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Release, Fines, and Restitution
403 people (95%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 2 people (less than 1%). Restitution was ordered for 225 people (53%).
Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 185 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 240. Yearly counts in the table run from 17 people in fiscal year 2020 to 62 in fiscal year 2023. The yearly median prison term ranged from 48 months to 88.5 months. The records cannot show what changed from year to year.
Only people who were convicted and sentenced are counted. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 44 | 57 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 33 | 72 months | 94% |
| 2018 | 51 | 49.5 months | 96% |
| 2019 | 57 | 88.5 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 17 | 48 months | 88% |
| 2021 | 28 | 72 months | 93% |
| 2022 | 42 | 60 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 62 | 78 months | 92% |
| 2024 | 48 | 54 months | 96% |
| 2025 | 43 | 69 months | 100% |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (425). 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 Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of New York, 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.