> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-robbery-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/ - Published: 2026-11-04T11:01:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T11:01:19.000Z - Description: In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 139 people were sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 136 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 63 months, lower than the median of 90 months across all 94 districts for this offense type. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, F](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) › Robbery: Western District of Pennsylvania **In brief:** In the Western District of Pennsylvania, 139 people were sentenced for robbery in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, and 136 (98%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 63 months, lower than the median of 90 months across all 94 districts for this offense type. Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025 This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 139 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/). ## Prison Terms Compared With All Districts The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 139 people in this district whose offense type was "Robbery." Of these, 136 (98%) received a prison term, and 2 (1%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 63 months (5.2 years). A quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 46 months or less. Across all 94 federal districts, 99% of people sentenced for robbery were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 90 months. The share sent to prison here was about the same, and the median prison term was lower. For all offenses in this district, the median prison term was 48 months. ## Sentences Against the Guideline Range Of the 139 people, 57 (41%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 42 (30%) were sentenced below the range without a government request, and 38 (27%) were sentenced below it at the government's request. A total of 2 (1%) were sentenced above the range. The share within the range across all districts was 40%, about the same as here. For all offenses in this district, 38% were within the range. ## Guilty Pleas and Trials Of the 139 people, 133 (96%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, 95% pleaded guilty. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 62.2 months. After a trial it was 201 months, based on 6 people convicted at trial and sent to prison. 6 cases are too few for a general comparison. Written plea agreements covered 71% of the guilty pleas, and 29% were straight pleas. ## Criminal History, Mandatory Minimums, and Restitution In criminal history, 20% were in the lowest category and 29% were in the highest. That mix differs from several other offense types in this district, where most people were in the lowest category. Court-martial records have no criminal history field. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 25 of the 138 people with that information recorded (18%). Restitution was ordered for 110 people (79%). No fine was ordered for any of the 139\. Supervised release after prison was ordered for 135 people (97%), with a median term of 36 months. ## Primary Guideline and Share of the District §2B3.1 (Robbery) was the primary guideline for 133 people. §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) was the primary guideline for 1. Robbery cases were 3% of the 4,460 people sentenced in this district in the period. ## Counts by Year and Limits of the Records Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 55 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 84\. Fiscal years (October through September) each have a row in the table. Yearly counts range from 6 to 23 people, and the yearly medians range from 48 months to 132 months. Counts this small do not show a trend. Only people who were convicted and sentenced are in the data. Acquittals and dismissals are excluded, and the prison terms shown are the terms imposed rather than time served. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 13 | 75 months | 92% | | 2017 | 6 | 101 months | 6 of 6 | | 2018 | 13 | 78 months | 100% | | 2019 | 23 | 70 months | 91% | | 2020 | 16 | 54 months | 100% | | 2021 | 17 | 48 months | 100% | | 2022 | 20 | 74.5 months | 95% | | 2023 | 17 | 52.5 months | 94% | | 2024 | 7 | 132 months | 6 of 7 | | 2025 | 7 | 71 months | 7 of 7 | ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Penn. West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (139). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article) - [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts) - [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method) - [Federal Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (overview) - [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [Federal Child Pornography Sentences in the Western District of Pennsylvania, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-child-pornography-sentences-western-district-of-pennsylvania/) (same district, other offense type) - [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source) - [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.