Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of North Carolina, 217 of the 218 people sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 114 months, or 9.5 years, compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 districts. Robbery cases were 4% of the district's 4,904 sent
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In brief: In the Western District of North Carolina, 217 of the 218 people sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median prison term was 114 months, or 9.5 years, compared with 90 months for robbery in all 94 districts. Robbery cases were 4% of the district's 4,904 sentenced people.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 218 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 218 people sentenced for robbery in this district. All but 1 received a prison term, and no one received probation only.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 114 months. A quarter received 147 months or more, and a quarter received 63 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 99% of people sentenced for robbery were sent to prison, and the median was 90 months. The median here was higher. The district's median for all offense types was 57 months.
Plea or Trial
A total of 206 people (94%) pleaded guilty, and 12 were convicted after a trial. The rate for all districts was 95%.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 108 months. After a trial it was 194.5 months, based on the 12 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. Among guilty pleas, 83% had a written plea agreement and 17% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The Role of Mandatory Minimums
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 91 of the 218 people (42%). A mandatory minimum is a floor set by statute for a specific charge.
The Commission's records show which cases carried one. They do not show the charge that produced it or whether a judge sentenced above the floor.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range is the range calculated under the federal sentencing guidelines. Of the 218 people, 132 (61%) were sentenced within it. Another 45 (21%) were below the range at the government's request, and 28 (13%) were below it without a government request. A total of 13 (6%) were above it.
For robbery in all districts, 40% were within the range. For all offense types in this district, 53% were within the range.
Medians by Fiscal Year
The district sentenced 108 people for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 110 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. In fiscal year 2016 the median was 57 months, and in fiscal year 2017 it was 84 months. From fiscal year 2018 through fiscal year 2023, the medians were between 120 and 121 months in every year.
In fiscal year 2025, the median was 139 months for 11 people. Some years have counts of only 8 to 15 people, so single-year medians change easily with a few cases.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 29 | 57 months | 97% |
| 2017 | 33 | 84 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 29 | 120 months | 93% |
| 2019 | 17 | 121 months | 88% |
| 2020 | 15 | 120 months | 93% |
| 2021 | 35 | 120 months | 91% |
| 2022 | 30 | 121 months | 97% |
| 2023 | 11 | 120 months | 91% |
| 2024 | 8 | 105.8 months | 7 of 8 |
| 2025 | 11 | 139 months | 100% |
What Guideline Applied
Robbery is the Commission's offense category, assigned from the primary guideline. In this district, §2B3.1 (Robbery) was the primary guideline in 216 cases. Another 2 cases used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 216 people (more than 99%), and the median term was 36 months. Restitution was ordered for 134 (61%). No fine was ordered.
In criminal history, 26% were in the lowest category (category I) and 15% were in the highest (category VI). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Limits of This Count
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served, and the data does not show the facts of any case.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "N Carolina West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (218). 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 North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of North Carolina, 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.