Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025
All 34 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2017 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 128 months (10.7 years), compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. The median was 121.5 months after a guilty plea and 404.5 months afte
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In brief: All 34 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Louisiana in fiscal years 2017 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 128 months (10.7 years), compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 federal districts. The median was 121.5 months after a guilty plea and 404.5 months after a trial, based on 6 people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 34 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 for Robbery
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 34 people in this district whose offense type was Robbery. All 34 (100%) were sentenced to prison, and 0 received probation only.
The median prison term was 128 months (10.7 years). A quarter received 189.5 months or more, and a quarter received 107.2 months or less.
Across all districts, 14,845 people were sentenced for robbery, 99% were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 90 months. For all offenses in this district, the median was 60 months. The terms here are the terms imposed, not time served.
After a Plea and After a Trial
Of the 34 people, 28 (82%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 121.5 months. After a trial it was 404.5 months, based on the 6 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
The share who pleaded guilty was lower than in all districts for robbery (95%) and lower than for all offenses in this district (96%). The trial group is small, and the records do not describe the facts of any case.
Among guilty pleas, 100% had a written plea agreement, and 0% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 16 of the 34 people with that information recorded (47%). A mandatory minimum is a lowest sentence set by statute, so the guideline range is not the only limit on the term.
The only primary guideline in these cases was §2B3.1 (Robbery), which applied to all 34 people.
The Guideline Range
Of the 34 people with guideline information, 24 (71%) were sentenced within the range. Another 4 (12%) were below it at the government's request, and 1 (3%) was below it without a government request. 5 people (15%) were above the range.
In all districts, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range. The share here was higher. For all offenses in this district, 67% were within the range.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
All 34 people (100%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 0, and restitution for 19 people (56%).
In criminal history, 21% were in the lowest category (category I), and 29% were in the highest (VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts
Robbery cases were 1% of the 3,011 people sentenced in this district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 25.
The table has no row for fiscal year 2018. Yearly counts range from 1 to 8 people, so the table does not show a trend. The federal fiscal year starts on October 1.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 3 | 120 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2019 | 6 | 132 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2020 | 8 | 200 months | 6 of 8 |
| 2021 | 6 | 115.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2022 | 3 | 124 months | 2 of 3 |
| 2023 | 3 | 125 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 4 | 127 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2025 | 1 | 241 months | 1 of 1 |
Installations and Limits of the Records
Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk are in this district. This site tracks their courts-martial, which are tried in military courts and not in this federal court.
Only people convicted and sentenced appear in the Commission data. Acquittals and dismissals are absent.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Louisiana West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (34). 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 Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Louisiana, 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.