Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Missouri, 197 of the 199 people sentenced for robbery offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (99%) received a prison term. The median was 96 months (8 years), compared with 90 months for all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 154 people (77%).
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY201 › Robbery: Western District of Missouri
In brief: In the Western District of Missouri, 197 of the 199 people sentenced for robbery offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (99%) received a prison term. The median was 96 months (8 years), compared with 90 months for all 94 federal districts. Restitution was ordered for 154 people (77%).
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 199 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
2 people (1%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For all districts, 99% of the 14,845 people in this offense type were sent to prison, the same share as here.
Among those sent to prison here, a quarter received 156 months or more, and a quarter received 60 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence. The median for all offenses in this district was 72 months.
A Larger Share Above the Guideline Range
The guideline range was recorded for all 199 people. 37% (73) were within it. 23% (45) were below it at the government's request, and 23% (45) were below it without a government request. 18% (36) were above it.
For all districts, 40% of robbery sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 38% were. The records do not show why sentences above the range occurred.
Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
192 of 199 people (96%) pleaded guilty, and 7 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 95% pleaded guilty. Among guilty pleas here, 81% had a written plea agreement and 19% were straight pleas.
The median prison term was 96 months after a guilty plea and 192 months after a trial, based on 7 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. A mandatory minimum applied to 86 of the 199 people with that information recorded (43%).
The Guideline Behind These Cases
The U.S. Sentencing Commission places a case in this offense type through its primary guideline. 197 people were sentenced under §2B3.1 (Robbery), and 2 under §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Robbery cases were 3% of the 7,571 people sentenced in the district over the period.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 197 people (99%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine was ordered for any of the 199 (0%).
In criminal history, 24% were in category I, the lowest, and 18% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Small Yearly Counts
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 95 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 104. Yearly counts range from 7 in fiscal year 2025 to 32 in fiscal year 2019.
The table lists medians from 77 months to 129 months. With so few people in each year, the medians do not show a trend, and the records cannot show why they differ.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 24 | 80.5 months | 96% |
| 2017 | 24 | 88.5 months | 96% |
| 2018 | 15 | 129 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 32 | 96 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 21 | 96 months | 95% |
| 2021 | 10 | 115.5 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 27 | 110 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 23 | 108 months | 87% |
| 2024 | 16 | 84 months | 94% |
| 2025 | 7 | 77 months | 7 of 7 |
What the Records Leave Out
The data counts only people convicted and sentenced, so it omits acquittals and dismissals. The prison terms are those imposed, not served.
Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman AFB lie in this district. Courts-martial there are tried in military courts, and none are counted in these federal numbers.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Missouri (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Missouri West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (199). 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 Missouri, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Missouri, 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.